What's Left Of Me
by sugarquill4ron
Summary: The war is over but 2 years later, they were still battling the scars. For Ron, every single day is a battle with himself. For Hermione, it was a struggle to show him that he didn't have to face it alone. Angsty Ron
1. All Is Not Lost

Ron turned the tap water on and the clear water that gushed through was instantaneous. He turned to face his friend Hermione, who was already grinning at him. "I think it's safe to say that it's working again." p 

"You're really good at all these repairing spells Ron," Hermione commended. "I don't know what I'd do without you. This apartment is falling apart." p 

"You'll probably have to call Mr. Attenbrough to look at it." Ron replied, referring to the wizard who owned what muggles would refer to as a plumber shop. p 

"And that would be costly." Hermione smiled. "I'd rather pay a friend who doesn't overcharge me in the first place." p 

Ron shook his head. "A cup of tea would be enough, I'm quite thirsty." p 

Hermione frowned. "That wouldn't be enough. What about a dinner?" p 

Ron bit his lip, unsure of what to say. Noticing his uncertainty, Hermione added, "I'll make a huge dinner for everyone at the Burrow, how's that? You can ask Fred and George to drop by and it's been awhile since I see Harry and Ginny." p 

Ron smirked. "And you'll be cooking for us?" p 

"For your information Ron, I've been rather good at cooking some decent dishes ever since I've been living on my own." And as if to prove this, Hermione magically poured him a cup of hot tea. p 

Ron sat facing her on the small dining table and took a sip of the tea. Hermione studied her friend while he wasn't looking. Even though Ron looked healthy and normal by appearance, there were tell tale signs of sleepless nights in the form of heavy eye bags and how his shoulders would hunch when he wasn't busy doing one thing or other. And no matter the amount of grins or smile he put on, his eyes had always been a dead giveaway. p 

Ron Weasley was tired. p 

"Well?" p 

He nodded as he put the cup down. "I think it's a good idea. It's been awhile since the kitchen smell of any real cook food." p 

Hermione forced a smile. Ever since the war ended two years ago, she had tried everything to get Ron to open up to her but to not much success. He would decline her friendly offer of a night out after work or even small offers of helping him dengome the garden. But the one thing Hermione missed most was his laughter. Ron hardly ever laughs anymore. p 

"Great, then it's settled. Can we send an owl to Harry and Ginny now?" p 

Ron shrugged. "Yeah, sure." p 

"Let me get the parchment and quill." She thought she saw an amused smile but Hermione was too excited to take a second look. Ron had never been this easy to be persuaded into something and for some odd reason, she felt if she had even taken a second to self-doubt, that Ron would turn around and cancels everything. p 

Entering her small bedroom, she grabbed for a blank parchment laying on her desk and her favorite self-ink quill. It was a present from Ron during what would be their seventh year if they hadn't skipped it altogether to go horcrux hunting with Harry. p 

A framed picture sitting on her desk caught her attention. It was of Harry, Ginny, Ron and herself at Bill and Fleur's wedding. They were all dressed up for the occasion and even with Dumbledore's death still fresh on their minds, they had put all grieving aside to celebrate the special occasion. Even Harry and Ginny were suspiciously close; the fact that Harry had broken things off with Ginny didn't seem to matter to the both of them. p 

And then there was Ron and herself. They had their arms around each others' waists, huge smiles on their faces. Only the night before, they had found the opportunity to slip through the chaos that was the Burrow and talked things through by the lake. She remembered being in the kitchen, crying her eyes out from peeling too many onions as Mrs. Weasley and Ginny fuss about the dishes they'd be serving after the wedding; when Ron came in and whispered in her ears to come follow him. Both Weasley women were too busy discussing about the choice of soup that they hardly missed her disappearance. p 

By the lake, Ron had let everything out. What surprised her most was that, there was not a hint of the famous Weasley blushed cheeks when he told her he needed to make things right. p I 

"_I feel so grown up all of a sudden, weird that."_ p 

"_I think I know what you're feeling. I feel really old." She said almost in a whisper. The lake looked calm and undisturbed and she took comfort in that. "I don't feel seventeen." _ p 

"_Nothing is certain anymore. All these," Ron said as he waved his hands to refer to their quiet surrounding. "they might not be here tomorrow." _ p 

"_Are you scared?" _ p 

_Ron took a deep breath and sighed. "Terrified." _ p 

"_Me too." _ p 

"_But the worst thing that could happen is if I…die…and I left things unsaid." _ p 

"_Ron, don't say such things!" _ p 

"_Well that happens in wars doesn't it? People die and who's to say for certain if we'd survive all that?" _ p 

"_I know…but I just can't…"_ p 

"_We have to make sure Harry kills him and if it means sacrificing myself, I'd do it in a heartbeat." _ p 

"_I would too." _ p 

"_I'd rather you not." _ p 

"_Well you don't have any say in that." _ p 

"_I wish I'd married you, then I'll have my say." _ p 

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_ p 

"_Well…my mom might be the hot tempered one but she always listen to Dad in the end. I reckon cause he's the man of the family and all that." _ p 

"_That's such a man thing to say Ron." _ p 

"_That's good to know, cause, well, I am one." _ p 

"_I have you know that if I ever get married, I'd like to have a say in how things are run in the family." _ p 

"_Sounds like mom. She has the final say in a lot of things." _ p 

"_But she'd listen to your dad as well?" _ p 

"_Yeah." _ p 

"_Why do you reckon that?" _ p 

"_Because I think she knows, at the end of the day, Dad is just looking out for her best interest at heart. And probably cause he wouldn't be able to survive looking after us without her. Mom runs the burrow and always makes sure we're all fed and stuff. Besides, that's what you do if you love someone more than life itself. You'd stand your ground and take all her yelling and screaming if it means she'd relent in the end and you know she'd be out of harm's way." _ p 

"_So…you want me out of harm's way." _ p 

"_If I have my way." _ p 

"_Which you don't." _ p 

"_I know, but I reckon Harry will never find those horcruxes if we keep you in some hiding place." _ p 

"_Oh really?" _ p 

"_Of course. You're the smart one. Besides, we've gone through all those adventures as a trio, why stop now, right? Strength in numbers, they say." _ p 

"_We'll keep each other alive. We'll have each others' backs." _ p 

"_And still nothing is ever certain, is it?" _ p 

"_Yeah…"_ p 

"_I can't believe I didn't do this sooner, but I guess things are meant to happen the way it happened and for a reason." _ p 

"_Ron, what are you talking about?" _ p 

"_I love you." _ p 

"_I know that, you told me already when I helped fixed that essay of yours, remember?" _ p 

"_I mean, I really, really love you." _ p 

"_Well, I love you too. I hope you know that, because we wouldn't be friends if I-"_ p 

"_I love you the way my Dad loves my mom."_ p /I 

"Hermione?" Hermione's eyes flew open and she swung around to find Ron standing on her doorway. "Are you out of fresh parchment?" p 

"What? No, no…I just forgot where I kept them but…" She waved the parchment enthusiastically in front of him. "Found it." p 

"Ah no, don't tell me you're forgetting things already?" Ron teased. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Nice room by the way. I can't help noticing how orange it is." p 

Hermione blushed. "Totally Harry's fault." p 

"How so?" p 

"Harry and Ginny wanted to help out when I first moved in and I told them they can chose one thing they'd want to do and have total say in it and Harry chose to paint my bedroom. And I have no say in what color it'd be either." p 

Ron nodded. "And what did Ginny do?" p 

"She gave me a knitted throw for my sofa." p 

Ron moved into the living room and for the first time saw the throw draped lazily on the sofa. It was maroon and it reminded him so much of his mother. p 

"Ginny wanted something that'd remind me of the Burrow." Hermione said, almost in a whisper. Ron turned to look at her and for a second, Hermione thought she saw a glint of blinked tears in his eyes. p 

"I'm sorry I wasn't around to help you move in." p 

Hermione waved it off. "You were busy with more important stuff than helping me move in. Besides, you're always here to help me with the broken pipes and what not." p 

Ron smiled, because that was what Ron would do when he had nothing to say. It happened quite a lot these days. Ron just smiled through conversations rather than say what was on his mind. As he walked back to the dining room, Hermione noticed the slight limping. It tore her heart knowing what exactly had caused it. p 

"This won't be long, can I get you another cup of tea?" p 

"No no, you sit down and write that letter, I'll get my own tea." p 

Hermione knew not to make a big fuss over it, so she sat down and started writing. p I 

_Dear Harry & Ginny, _ p 

_You're required at the Burrow this Friday for dinner. I'll be cooking, not Ron, I'm not sure if that's a good thing but I assure you no food poisoning will be involved. And yes, it'd be a full course dinner, not sandwiches and tea, if you're wondering. _ p 

_And don't worry, this is not a trick. I owe Ron a favor because he fixed my broken pipe…again. _ p 

_Yours, _ br 

Hermione p /I 

When Hermione looked up again, Ron had two cups of tea in his hand and he pushed one to her. "I'm heading to St. Mungo's soon to bring dad home, his check up should be done by then. Are you heading to work soon?" p 

"Actually I'm heading there myself." Hermione replied as she thanked him for the tea with a smile. "I have an appointment with the Head Mediwitch about some financial issues of one of the families under my care." p 

Hermione worked for the Ministry of Magic, and headed the new department for Wizarding Family Welfare. After the war, the wizarding world was in ruins. Thousands were left homeless and buildings were in ruins. There was an on going project to rebuild the Wizarding world and re-housing homeless wizarding families. Hermione's job was to make sure that each and every family were taken care of and none were left to defend for themselves. p 

"Well, we can go together then." Ron offered. p 

It took a lot in her not to grin so widely. She had to pretend as if such an invitation from Ron was normal when in fact, Ron hardly ever invited anyone to go anywhere with him. The only person he seemed to still give a little leeway was Harry, and even that had been far and between. p 

"Of course. Let me just get my things and then we can apparate there together." p 

Ron nodded and Hermione made for her room once more. Grabbing her file, cloak and wand and checking her appearance on the mirror quickly, she went back to the kitchen, where Ron was now busy scribbling away on the letter that Hermione had written for Harry and Ginny. p 

"Hope you don't mind, I added a little something in there." p 

"Of course not." Hermione smiled. "Can I read it?" p 

"It's no secret 'Mione." p 

Hermione almost forgot how to breathe again. 'Mione was Ron's way of showing his endearment to her, and often done when there were no one else around. Ron was far from a romantic. He never calls her 'love' or 'sweetheart' or 'baby' and the one time he had heard Harry called Ginny 'babe', he had smacked him upside the head and said, 'my sister has a name and it's not babe'. Ginny had told her brother to lay off and that she loves being called 'babe' by her boyfriend. p 

The last time Ron had called her Mione, was, amazingly enough, during the final battle. There were a lot of uncertainties back then, but at least she knew that he was her boyfriend. She wasn't sure what Ron is to her these days. Or what she is to him anymore. p I 

"_If we get separated, I'll come back for you." _ p 

_And he came back, right when she needed him the most. _ p 

_She had found herself standing back to back with Ginny, being rounded by a group of Death Eaters that had apparated out of nowhere. Being outnumbered, she remembered yelling at Ginny that it wasn't the time to hold back, that they should do anything within their ability to get rid of them all. And they had fought like there was no tomorrow to look forward to. Curses and spells flew in all directions and Hermione thought they had it under control. _ p 

_And then Ron came out of nowhere, yelling for her. "Hermione get down!"_ p 

Next thing she knew, she was on the ground, and in her place was Ron. The Death Eater had thrown a cutting curse and it had hit his left side. Hermione threw a stunner at the Death Eater and was just in time to catch Ron's fall. p 

_Harry had come, along with Charlie and George to help Ginny fight the remaining Death Eaters. By then, Hermione couldn't care less what was going on around them. The cut was deep and within seconds, there was a pool of blood where Hermione had laid him down. She tried every spell she had learnt to stop the bleeding but nothing seemed to work. _ p 

"_Why isn't it working!" She cried to herself, frustration setting in. She took off her cloak and started dabbing at the open wound but when it began to soak through, Hermione knew it wasn't enough. _ p 

"_Hermione…" _ p 

"_I can do this! I know the spells!" Hermione said as she closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. She had used all the spells she knew hadn't she? Surely she had memorized all of them. _ p 

"_Mione, look at me." _ p /I 

"Is my handwriting that bad?" p 

She blinked and then looked up to meet his gaze. "What?" p 

"You've been staring at the letter for awhile now and I know I had written just one line." p 

"Oh." p 

I Ps: If she burns the kitchen, will you guys take me in? /I p 

"Oh, that's rich Ronald." Hermione said rolling her eyes. She rolled the parchment quickly and called for Rouge, an owl that was given to her by the MOM and which she had spent hours trying to find the perfect name. Once she had given the owl the instructions, it flew out of her kitchen window. With her back now facing Ron, she let herself give a well-deserved smile. Ron had made a joke! Could it really mean he was slowly trying to let them in? p 

"I was thinking, maybe instead of apparating, we could walk there instead?" p 

This had Hermione by surprise. Did he really say that? "Well…are you sure?" p 

"Not all the way obviously. There's a new Bed & Breakfast opened a couple of blocks down, they have a fireplace that allow us to floo straight to St. Mungo's. But if you're already running late for the meeting, we can just apparate from here, it's no big deal." p 

"Oh no, my appointment wasn't for another hour. I wanted to go in early to see Neville and Luna. I got an owl from Neville a few days ago, he said he had some kind of breakthrough that he wanted me to see. I'm not too sure what that's all about but I'm kind of curious now." p 

Ron nodded and smiled. "Neville is doing a lot of good for himself and everyone else for that matter. Is it true he's seeing Luna now?" p 

Hermione grinned. "Looks like it. I didn't out right ask them." p 

"Well then, shall we?" p 

- p 

It was almost noon when they stepped out of her apartment and into the busy streets of Hogsmeade. The wizarding town wasn't as colorful as it used to be before the war, but it was slowly gaining back the color. p 

Hermione had always wanted to live in Hogsmeade, it had went as far back as in third year, when they were allowed to go for Hogsmeade weekends. She could still remember vividly her first trip there. They had gone together, hadn't they? She had seen a different side of Ron on that trip, a side that pleased her very well. p I 

_It was her first trip to Honeydukes. Being a daughter of dentists, Hermione was barely exposed to the world of candies. Most of the candies she had tasted had been the sugarless types and Hermione had never complained about it seeing how there was a perfectly logical reason why she was taught candies are bad for her teeth. _ p 

"_So, what do you want?" _ p 

"_I'm not sure if I want anything," She said, shrugging. "Can we go to Flourish & Botts after this? I want to buy some new parchments." _ p 

"_Okay, but only if you let me buy you a candy." _ p 

"_What is it with you and candies?" _ p 

"_They're not like muggle's sweets Hermione. Trust me, you'll love them!" _ p 

"_Okay fine. As long as they don't taste like ear wax, I've heard of those every flavored beans." _ p 

_He smiled and went searching for that candy. Hermione followed him through the crowd, unsure if she should just wait by the side. The store was busting with students, everyone trying to stock up on their candy to bring back to school. _ p 

_Ron kept moving from one candy to another, constantly shaking his head and mumbling 'nope'. Hermione didn't realize it was that difficult to pick just one. _ p 

"_What's wrong with that one?" Hermione asked out of boredom and then read the label. "Five ever changing fruit flavors lollipop. That's nice enough." _ p 

"_Well, yeah…but…it's not good enough." Ron smiled sheepishly and then urged her to move forward. _ p 

"_Well then, what is good enough Ronald? We've been here for awhile now." _ p 

_Ron remained quiet and looked through every candy bottle on display. Hermione decided if she was ever going to get out of here, she should try harder to help quicken the search. It didn't take long for it to dawn on her while they were silently walking next to each other, passing yet another type of candy, that all the candies Ron had reached out for, had quite the hefty price tag. _ p 

"_Oh." _ p 

"_What was that?" Ron asked absentmindedly. _ p 

"_Nothing." Hermione sputtered. "Um, Ron, I know this is supposed to be your choice and all, but I think this place really makes me want to have a taste of cotton candy, do they have those here?" _ p 

_Ron's eyes immediately widen. "Of course they do! They're one of the common ones though, nothing really, um, magical about them."_ p 

"_That's okay, I think I should start slow." Hermione assured him with a smile. "After that, you can show me all the ones that you and Harry like, he gave me some money to get him something from Honeyduke." _ p 

"_He did?" _ p 

"_Yup. I almost forgot about it, but he wanted to ask you to buy it for him since you're obviously an expert in the candy business, but you were busy being tormented by the twins just now." Hermione lied. She didn't know she had it in her. _ p 

"_That's great! We should get him those chocolate frogs, he's just starting his collector's cards…" _ p /I 

"It's so wrong not to have Honeydukes in Hogsmeade." p 

Ron took a deep breath and smiled. "I can still smell all the sweets and the chocolates." p 

"I missed the thousands of colors." Hermione reminisced. "We need more color here." p 

"I'm sure we'll get it all back someday." Ron assured her as they walked farther down the road. There were building constructions going around and small shop houses that were already up, were now busting with activities. p 

"Mr. Weasley, is that really you?" Hermione turned, much faster than Ron, and found an elderly woman with a young boy about nine smiling at them. p 

"Hello Mrs. Lynch," Ron greeted the woman and reached out to ruffle the boy's blonde hair. The kid seemed to know him too, and giggled. "I see you're out for a bit of shopping." p 

"It's Kyle's birthday tomorrow and I thought a little bit of celebration should be about right. The kids could do with a little bit of party around here." p 

"That sounds lovely." Hermione offered. "How old are you going to be Kyle?" p 

"I'll be ten! Just one more year and I'll be going to Hogwarts!" p 

Both Hermione and Ron laughed. "Yeah, I reckon Hogwarts will be open by then." p 

"Well, we best be going now." Mrs. Lynch said. "I just wanted to say hello. You've been a great help with fixing those pipes. That little pipe ring you attached really helped, I had no leaking ever since and the simple spell is handy for this old lady to remember." p 

"That's good to hear, I'm glad it helped." p 

"You should really consider selling them, Merlin knows we need those little miracles." She smiled. "Just like you Ms. Granger." p 

Hermione was taken by surprise. This woman knew her name? p 

"Oh don't look so surprised Miss. Everybody knows who Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley are. Harry Potter isn't the only hero in the last war, he has heroes for friends as well. And what you're doing for the welfare of us normal wizarding folks didn't go unappreciated. If it wasn't for your department, I'd still be jobless and caring for my grandson. It was tough after his parents died in the war, did you know, I almost gave him up for adoption? I don't know what I'd do if I had given Kyle away. My son would be terribly ashamed of me if he had been alive." p 

By instincts, Hermione reached out for the older woman and they embraced in a hug as she wept on her shoulder. "Don't worry Mrs. Lynch, if there ever is a problem, do find me, or Ron, we can help you and Kyle." p 

"That's good to know." The older woman smiled, wiping her tears away. "Thank you so much, both of you. Please, don't let me hinder your walk any further, we still have a little bit of shopping to do ourselves." p 

After they bid the old lady and her grandson goodbye, Hermione and Ron continued their walk in silence. It didn't feel awkward though, at least not for Hermione. They constantly waved or exchanged pleasantries to familiar faces they saw walking by, both entertaining to their own thoughts. p 

For Hermione, her mind was on Ron Weasley. They might be walking next to each other, their arms constantly brushing against each other, but she hardly knew him. It tugged at her heart that she had no idea what Ron's day to day activities was like. She really missed her Ron. And she wanted to get to know the Ron who was standing next to her now. The one who seemed set to shut himself from everyone else. Even from her. p 

She stole a glance at him, wanting to really look at his profile without him knowing. Instead, she found him slightly frowning, and his shoulders a little hunched over. Her gaze dropped to his arm, which looked like as if he was holding on to his abdomen. His pace had slowed a little too. p 

"Ron…" p 

"There's a clearing up ahead, just a little bit from here." Ron cut in. He might have sounded calm but Hermione couldn't help noticing the little grimace on his face as they trudged along. "Do you mind if we take a little break? The Bed & Breakfast would be another ten minutes from there." p 

"Of course not. That'd be nice actually, it's been awhile since I let myself take some time and appreciate the beauty that we still have left." p 

Ron smirked. "Well then Miss Granger, isn't today your lucky day?" p 

She smiled and bravely draped her arm around his waist. She was careful not to touch that sensitive area that was now hurting him. When Ron didn't show any signs of protest, she bit back the urge to do a happy dance. p I 

_The war was over but it didn't feel like they had won. Everywhere she turned, buildings were in ruins, bodies were still scattered around. Those who were strong enough to lift a finger, were doing everything they could to carry the fallen to the mortuary. Aurors were patrolling the streets, the first batch of authorities assigned to ensure some kind of law was in order. Riots were breaking out in different areas. Hunger and desperation led the homeless to rob one another just to survive another day. _ p 

_Hermione entered St. Mungo's early morning and the scene that greeted her didn't seem to be any different than the day before. Everyone seemed to be rushing somewhere. Distant screaming of someone in pain could be heard. Someone's mother, sister, daughter or wife was crying alone outside a closed ward. Mediwitches with dried bloo stains on their uniform were rushing from one room to another. _ p 

_She walked pass them all in a daze, already memorizing her intended destination by heart. It was a routine to her. _ p 

_Ron's ward was right at the end of the third floor. It was a secluded area reserved for the critically injured. _ p 

_There were four beds occupied when Hermione was there the night before. Now there were three occupants left. She quickened her pace, not wanting to find out what happened to the young wizard whom had occupied the empty bed the night before. _ p 

_Ron's bed was currently hidden behind closed curtains. Hermione could hear Harry's voice, almost in a whisper, talking to Ron. She paused, unsure if she should intrude on them; but something Harry said then made her decide to wait for a little while more before making her appearance known. _ p 

"_Ron, I really think I should get Nurse Caroline to do this." _ p 

"_No Harry please, you can do this for me." _ p 

"_I might hurt you! I don't know what I'm doing Ron." _ p 

"_I'm always hurting Harry, what are you talking about?" _ p 

"_It's not funny." _ p 

"_No it's not. But I don't think I can stand seeing myself cry like a baby in front of a nurse again. You have to do this for me." _ p 

"_Maybe we should wait for Hermione? I think she's better at this than I am." _ p 

"_Harry please. She had been crying her eyes out every time she came to visit me. I don't want her to see this."_ p 

"_She's been crying?" _ p 

"_When she thought I was asleep. Anyway, I thought she really needed to let it all out since she's always trying to show everyone she's handling it well." _ p 

"_Okay fine…I'll do this. Er…I think I should help you sit up." _ p 

"_Yeah, seeing how you're supposed to bind the bandage around my waist and all." _ p 

"_You don't make fun of the person who's trying to help you." _ p 

"_Jeez Harry, lighten up." _ p 

_Curiosity won her over and ever so stealth, she took a little peek inside. _ p 

_Ron was sitting up on his bed, topless, his hospital gown pulled down to his waist. His pale right arm resting on Harry's shoulder while Harry was hunched over, working on cutting the old bandage. _ p 

"_Right, what do I do now?" _ p 

"_Undo the binding spell first." _ p 

"_But…but you'll bleed!" _ p 

"_And that's a good thing for a bit…prevent blood clot and what not….at least that's what Caroline keep telling me." _ p 

"_Ok, ok, fine." _ p 

_Harry muttered the counter spell and Hermione bit her lower lip when Ron let out a strangled gasp. _ p 

"_Oh Godric, is it suppose to bleed that much?" _ p 

_  
Ron nodded his reply. _ p 

_From where Hermione was standing, it looked like Harry was dabbing at the wound. _ p 

"_Ron…it's STILL bleeding! What am I doing wrong here?" _ p 

"_It never stops bleeding…that's the bleeding curse I got hit with, gosh Harry you have to calm down or I'll really bleed to death." _ p 

"_Right, right…okay…so…what's next?" _ p 

"_Take a handful of that salve and start kneading it in your palm until it gets really warm." _ p 

"_What? Why didn't you tell me to do that first! You're going to bleed to death while I'm…kneading this thing!" _ p 

"_Well excuse me Harry, but unless they find a new spell of some sort to undo this curse, I'm going to have to live with this, aren't I? And one of these days mate, I'm going to have to go home and do this on my own twice a day and I will be bleeding while I knead that salve myself. Now if you can't do that for me, I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to do it myself!" _ p 

_There was a stretch of silence as Harry kneaded the salve. The flex of muscles on Ron's arm told Hermione that he was struggling to hold on to Harry. She debated for a while, wondering if she should just come out clean and helped them both. But Ron was a Weasley. His pride would take it as an insult. If they come off too eager, Ron would push them away. He was already beginning to do that to most of them and if keeping herself hidden meant that he would at least open up to Harry, she would do exactly that. _ p 

"_Harry…"_ p 

"_Just awhile more Ron, hang on." _ p /I 

"I call this bench our time out spot every time I send Dad for his check ups." p 

Hermione smiled and sat down as Ron took a firm grip of the armrest before lowering himself down. "It's lovely Ron, nothing but wide open space. It's peaceful." p 

Indeed it was. Shy away from the busy streets of Hogsmeade, the stretch of land ahead of them was now covered in healthy green grass. Ahead of them, a new building sat still and proud. Hermione assumed that was the Bed & Breakfast Ron was talking about. p 

"There used to be houses here though, before the war." Ron continued. "I think once the soil is firm enough, they might just rebuild them." p 

"So, you walk all the way here and then floo from the Bed & Breakfast all the time?" p 

"Most of the time, when Dad was strong enough to handle it. We walk through Hogsmeade, that's how I got to know most of the families living around there. They like to stop and talk to my dad and share their problems. That's how I got to assist people like Mrs. Lynch anyway. And I figured it'd be healthy for Dad to…go out." p 

"What was that ring thing she talked about earlier? For the pipes?" p 

"Ah…it's just a ring to sort of alert you if the pipe was going to burst. You just have to tap it once and say 'fix' and it'll fix the problem before it burst." p 

Hermione smiled. "That's brilliant Ron! I know I said you're really good at these repairing spells but wow, you're more than just good." p 

Ron shrugged, a tinge of blush now creeping up to his face and ears. "It's nothing big really. You know how Dad loves his muggles artifacts. I figured if I could put his mind into working on something with me at home, he'd get distracted from thinking about…" p 

Ron waved his hands lazily and then sighed before looking at her. "So what about you Hermione? What have you been up to lately?" p 

"Work." She laughed. "I guess that's my distraction day in day out. It gets easier when you know you're out there helping someone else's life a little bit better." p 

He nodded. "You're doing a great job Mione. I've read a lot about your team's work in the Quibbler." p 

"You know if you allow yourself some downtime and hang out with me, you could find that out straight from the source." p 

Ron smiled but offered no reply and this upset her a little. Was he no longer interested in her? What about that promise they made before the war? She had never brought the subject up out of respect but Ron seemed quite content on not touching about the matter himself. p 

There was the sound of something flapping in the air and before Hermione knew it, Hedwig had landed on her lap with a tiny scroll of parchment on her leg. p 

"Hey there buddy." She greeted with a smile. "I'm sorry there's no food for you right now." p 

"Wait just a minute." Ron interrupted. He shoved his hand deep inside the pocket of his jeans and pulled out something tiny wrapped in red. p 

Hermione laughed. "You're going to give him a chocolate?" p 

"Hedwig loves chocolate!" Ron said defensively as he unwrapped the candy and raised his palm to the owl. Hedwig snapped it up in a second. "He used to eat all our stash back in Hogwarts." p 

"You mean both you and Harry used to train him to eat one?" p 

Ron shrugged but couldn't help the tiny smile he let escaped his lips. "I don't know what you're talking about." p 

Hermione shook her head and laughed while un-scrolling the little message. "It's from our two favorite Aurors." p 

"Well go on, read it." p 

"Dear Ron and Hermione," Hermione paused. How nice that sounded to her. Ron and Hermione…she missed that. "We would be delighted to take up on the offer. It had been awhile since we eat real food considering Ginny would rather prefer hex on things than cook them. We will be there with a bottle of firewhisky for good measure." p 

Ron laughed and Hermione closed her eyes, cherishing this moment. p 

"Is that it?" Ron asked. p 

Hermione shook her head and continued. "P.S. the couch is on stand by for you in case of a fire big brother." p 

Ron laughed again, clutching at his side as he did so and Hermione was too happy to hear the very sound that she had missed for too long to even utter a quick comeback. Perhaps not all is lost. p 


	2. The Cure

**A/n: waves thank you to all 4 readers who reviewed! I'm so happy it's not even funny! Glad you liked chapter 1, here's chapter 2 for you. It's unedited so I do apologize for the many mistakes you're bound to find in this one. **

By the time they flooed into St. Mungo's, Hermione couldn't pretend as if nothing was wrong. There was a fine line between trying not to suffocate him with her concerns and appearing as if she doesn't give a damn and she definitely didn't want Ron to think that she didn't care.

"Ron, forgive me for saying this, but we're already here, perhaps you'd let Neville take a look at your wound?"

Ron was about to say something in return when Hermione cut him. "It's not that I think you don't have it under control, but that was a long walk and the flooing is just dizzying and you look pale-"

"Hermione," Ron cut in, surprising her when she noticed the smirk on his face. "I am meeting Neville before I get my dad."

"You…what?"

"He owled me a few days ago and asked if he could see me today. He didn't say anything about a possible cure but he made it clear it was about my wound."

"So…you knew I was going to meet him today?"

Ron shook his head. "No, I didn't. He said nothing about you being there. I'm not really sure if he wants to meet us about the same thing."

Hermione nodded, taking this new information in. "Ok, let's go."

Neville was in his makeshift office – a place where wizards and witches training to be a doctor would go to finish their reports or have a break. His face was set to a frown as he studied a report on his desk when they peered in. His frown quickly turned into a smile as he beckoned them in.

"I wasn't expecting both of you to arrive together but this is a pleasant surprise."

"Ron came by to fix my broken tap earlier," Hermione explained. "I just found out you were looking for him as well. Is it about the same matter you wanted to see me?"

Neville nodded while showing them both to their seats. "Yes, actually it is. You see, Luna and I have been working on some spells and potions to stop internal bleeding and more advance spell on healing open wounds…and it was just by chance really…we think we found a balance of both spell and potion to stop the bleeding altogether."

Hermione's eyes were wide open. "Neville…that's…"

"Brilliant." Ron smiled.

Neville blushed, and for a second, Hermione was reminded of the shy, soft-spoken young man she knew from Hogwarts.

"It won't break the curse, mind, but it…improves…the er, condition."

"Has it been tested yet Neville?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, but on small wounds," Neville replied. "it hasn't been tested on fatal ones."

"So…you we were wondering if you could use it on Ron?"

"If he agrees to it."

"And you asked me here for…"

"Well, you are the brightest witch of our year in Hogwarts Hermione. Luna and I thought it couldn't hurt to hear your opinion about it first."

"What do you think Hermione?" Ron asked, looking at her with a pained expression on his face.

She took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "Well, first of all, I think it's wise that you take a look at the wound and see if it needs changing. I think Ron might have exerted himself too much from the walk."

"Oh, of course, no problem! I might need your assistance though, it'll make the process faster and less painful for Ron."

Hermione nodded. "Of course, I'll help."

"Right," Neville said as he looked at Ron. "You need to take off your clothes so it won't get messy later. There're some spare hospital jumpers in the changing room for you."

"K, thanks." Ron got up from his seat and made his way to the changing room. Hermione noticed the difficulty he was facing just to walk the small distant and wondered if he would be all right in there alone.

"He'll be fine Hermione, he'd been in a lot worst condition than this." Neville said, as if he had read her mind.

"Oh?"

Neville nodded. "About two weeks ago, he came back to fetch Mr. Weasley and almost collapse in front of Luna. From what Mr. Weasley told her, Ron overworked himself at the Burrow."

Hermione felt her throat constricted. What wouldn't she give to just run to Ron and give him a hug and let him know he didn't have to go through it alone. "About this new…cure…how does it work exactly?"

"Well you see, Ron will have to take two potions for the course of two weeks, which by then, should successfully stop the bleeding altogether. What we couldn't fix is the wound itself, it will remain as fresh as the day the curse was inflicted on him."

Hermione nodded, taking everything in. "What about the spell?"

"Right…after two weeks, he can stop taking one of the potions and continue with the remaining potion, which is to help prevent and cure infection that usually comes with open wounds. And then with a more advanced spell than the one he is currently using to slow down the irreversible curse, Ron can bind the open wound without the use of the hot salve, which means, lesser pain for Ron."

Hermione was liking this new alternative even more now. Sure they couldn't find the right spell to undo the curse (yet), but this new approach would make his life much easier.

"So…all he needs is to take that potion and cast the spell and he's done? And no more bleeding after the first two weeks?"

Neville grinned. "Yes! He still have to use the muggle bandage though, so as not to expose the open wound and prevent further accidents. And the best part is, after the first two weeks, Ron only has to take the remaining potion once a week and renew the spell once every three days."

Hermione was beaming. She could tell both Neville and Luna are going to be St. Mungo's greatest assets if they haven't already.

"We've had the permission from the Head of St. Mungo's herself to try it out, we just need to find a willing participant."

"Oh Neville, I'm quite sure Ron would do it! He's also at the perfect age to try it out. He's still young and strong."

"Well, not right now he isn't, but thanks for the vote of confidence."

Hermione turned to find Ron barefoot and topless, with only a hospital jumper to cover the lower half of his body. The bandage was the only thing now covering the wound. He also looked like he was about to collapse.

"Here Ron, just hold on to this and we'll work quickly to fix that." Neville said as he showed Ron the railing bar that was mounted against the wall. It reminded Hermione of those side bars Ballerinas use to hold on to as they do their warm ups.

Neville disappeared behind yet another door and came back pushing a cart containing some first aid materials along with the infamous pot of salve.

She looked on as Neville proceeded to cut the bandage and discard the material and then muttered a spell that would undo the binding spell. The wound burst open and Ron began to bleed heavily.

Hermione gulped. Is this what Ron had to go through twice a day? And suppose he had overworked himself, like today, and could barely stand up, how had he managed to do all these on his own?

The blood was now soaking the hospital jumper and Hermione couldn't help noticing how red it was against his pale skin. The strong smell of iron invaded her nostrils, making her dizzy. All these felt familiar…

"Hermione."

She shook her head and looked up to meet his gaze. Despite the obvious pain he was in, Ron was smiling at her.

"Mione, look at me."

"_Calm down and breathe." _

"_Ron you're bleeding and none of the spells they taught us are working!" _

_Ron nodded his head lightly and struggled to find his voice and the panic button in Hermione's head was pushed again. _

"_Ron-"_

"_I'm not going to die, so relax." Ron gasped. "Don't panic…and you'll figure it…out." _

"_But-"_

" _I'm not done yet. You have to …fix me …so we can… stand by Harry… when Voldemort shows up." _

_Hermione inhaled sharply. She can do this; she knew it! "Okay, I can do the binding spell, it won't heal or stop the bleeding but it should slower down the process while I figure things out." _

"_Such a…brilliant…witch." _

"I've been through this for the last two years, twice a day, everyday. Trust me, I'm not going to drop and die any second now."

Hermione forced a smile and nodded her head, willing for the bad memories to go away. She shouldn't panic, Ron needed her help and that was saying a lot. When was the last time Ron had said yes to anything she had to offer?

With new resolutions, she turned to Neville. "Okay, what do I do?"

"Start kneading the salve until-"

"It warms, yes, right away." Hermione blurted as she reached out for the thick salve and grabbed a handful. She began kneading it and after a few seconds, she started feeling the cold salve becoming a little warm in her palms.

Neville began dabbing at the wound, soaking the blood and preventing it from soaking the jumper instead. Hermione couldn't help stealing a glance when she heard Ron's breath started coming in gasps and wheezes.

The salve couldn't warm up fast enough and she was growing impatient. How in the world could Ron knead this thing to warm when surely he barely had any strength left just from bleeding?

"Here, put your weight on me." Neville had shifted to allow Ron to lean against his body a little. Ron was quiet, he looked to be in too much pain.

"Maybe I'm doing this wrong, it's not warming up fast enough."

"You're doing great Hermione, just a little while now." Neville assured her.

"Tis…funny…Hermione doing something…wrong…" Ron teased in his grimace.

Neville laughed. "You're right there Ron, that'd be funny. Hermione wouldn't allow herself to do something as simple as kneading wrongly!"

"Oh shut it you two! I think it's okay now, it's really warm!"

"Okay good, just put it against the wound, it'll meld itself against it and evaporate." Neville instructed.

This was the part Hermione wasn't sure she could handle. She could still hear Ron crying out in pain that day when she peeked on Harry doing it to Ron. The moment the warm salve hit the open wound, it sizzled and dissolved and Ron had cried on Harry's shoulder as they waited for the pain to subside.

But the only thing that escaped Ron's mouth when she slapped the salve against his wound was a low growl. Ron had tears in his eyes but he was smiling at her.

"Well, thanks for fixing me up."

She was just in time to break his unsuspected fall and as Ron's body lay unconscious on her lap, she was momentarily brought back to the day when she thought she had lost him forever.

"Ron, I really think you should apparate to St. Mungo's right now, you're not fit to fight!" 

"_I'm fine! Your spell helped, a lot, Hermione. I'm not going anywhere until we face Voldemort together with Harry." _

"_But Ron-"_

"_I'm not going to break my promise now; you'd do the same if you were in my shoes and nothing I say will ever convince you otherwise." _

"_GET DOWN! STUPEFY!"_

"_I owe you one!" _

"_No, we're even!"_

"_Who's counting? Expelliarmus!" _

"_Ron, the Dementors are coming this way!" _

"_Ignore them! They're distractions, Charlie's sending the dragons to fight them! DIFFINDO!"_

_Hermione tried to ignore the sudden chill that was creeping from her back. She kept muttering hexes and spells to incoming Death Eaters that seemed to just multiply every time she brought one of them down. _

_And then she saw it, the dragons looming above them and shooting fire at the Dementors. Never mind happy thoughts, she had a feeling the dragons were out to just maul them into pieces. _

"_Lavender, what are you doing!" _

_Her head snapped back to the direction Ron seemed to be yelling at and found Lavender Brown, without her wand, attacking an armed Death Eater. _

"_Oh Godric! Ron, go get her!" Ron was already half way there by then and Hermione shouted a jinx at a Death Eater who was aiming his wand at the direction of Ron and Lavender. _

_Her worry over Ron's condition seemed eager to distract her from her concentration and she knew if she didn't try hard enough, she'd commit a mistake that could just endanger all their lives. They promised to have each others' backs and she wasn't ready to break that promise. _

_She heard Harry yelling out yet another spell towards a Death Eater and it wasn't until she had got rid of the two that was going for her that she ran to assist him. He was battling Bellatrix Lestrange. _

"_Harry, you have Voldemort to take care of, let me have this one." _

_They say wars change a person. They bring out that bravery and courage in you, it led you to do things that you probably would never do under normal circumstances. They also said a war brings out the humanitarian and the killer instincts in you, all at once. And Hermione saw all these in the form of her friend, Neville Longbottom. _

_Both Harry and her had his back, stopping other Death Eaters from coming any farther towards them as Neville battled the woman who had ruined his family. Ironically enough, it was a deflected cruciatus curse from a fellow Death Eater that was meant for Neville that in the end, caused the downfall of Bellatrix Lestrange._

_But there was no time for celebration. _

_Ginny, Bill, Fred and George were rounded by two trolls not far away while Luna Lovegood, Ernie McMillan and a fellow Auror were outnumbered by a group of Death Eaters. Everywhere around them, good were still fighting evil. _

"_Harry go ahead and get Ginny out of there, Neville, I'll help you get Luna!" _

_And so they separated; at the back of her mind, the same old question lingered. How is Ron holding up? _

_She got her answer in the form of his anguished cry. _


	3. Onion Soup and Memories

_A/n: Hello! I'm feeling the love with the reviews I'm getting, I really appreciate them all, so thank you so much for taking the time out to review :D I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint! _

_Greenpluff: I have a back story of how Harry faced Voldemort but I'm not sure if I'll be putting that in this story because it's such a huge scene and I'm not sure if I'm good enough to do it justice. But just so you know, yes, in my crazy yet safe little world, Ron and Hermione were there when Harry faced Voldemort. (When they said all the way, they really mean it, lol). _

Hermione was explaining what needed to be done for the day and was getting frustrated when she realized her ex-dorm mate in Hogswart and now colleague, wasn't giving her fullest attention and appeared to be amused instead.

"Parvati honestly, are you listening or not?"

"Yes I am and I don't know what you're panicking about Hermione because I know these stuff already, I assist you in each and every one of them all the time." Parvati smiled as she closed all the case files mounting on her desk. Each file concerned a family under their welfare system.

"I'm sorry, I know you can handle all these, it's just-"

"I know, I know, you're Hermione and worrying is just you by nature." Parvati teased.

Hermione sighed. "Guilty as charged."

"You know, I'm more intrigued by the fact that you're taking this urgent leave today."

"Why is that?"

"The whole day too."

"Yes Parvati, what's the point?"

"You've head this Department ever since it opened up almost two years ago Hermione, you've never taken even a half day off!"

"Yes well, there's always a first to everything."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm not taking a vacation Parvati, I'll be back tomorrow."

"I know that, but still, there must be somewhere you need to be for you to take this urgent leave and leave poor me all by myself to handle all these cases."

"You're such a pain."

"But you heart me so."

"I don't know what got into me but I promised Ron I'd cook dinner for him and his guests tonight."

"Wow, Ron huh?"

"Yup, him."

"How did that happen?"

"He fixed my pipe."

"Again?"

"It's an old apartment."

"So, it's Ron."

"You do have some kind of fixation over his name after all Parvati."

"I think you confused me with Lavender."

"I thought it was Won-Won?"

"Same difference."

"I used to tease him about it."

"Yeah…so, that still doesn't explain why you have to take leave to cook dinner. Is this a date?"

"No! It's just that…well…Harry and Ginny are coming and then there's the twins and of course Mr. Weasley…and I extended, well, blurted out the invitation to Neville and Luna as well and now I'm not sure if I'm good enough to cook for a huge crowd."

"You'll do fine trust me. If everything else fail, just call one of those muggles delivery and chuck the boxes before anyone arrives."

"I'm cooking at the Burrow."

"Wow."

"Yeah, wow."

"Well, look at it this way Hermione. I think reinstalling some laughter at the Burrow depends on your culinary skills tonight."

"And just because of that, I hope someone gives you a hard time today. I'm off to the market."

"Tell Won-Won I said hi!"

-

Diagon Alley was buzzing with early morning activities. Kids were running around while their parents were either busy bargaining with the witches or wizards behind their stalls. Hermione had just came out of a grocery store with both arms loaded with paper bags filled with items she was going to cook for dinner. She couldn't be thankful enough for the non-tear charm she had learnt back in school, it proved to be useful right then.

"Are you sure you don't want my Aaron to help you with that Ms. Granger?"

Hermione looked back and smiled. "It's quite all right Mrs. Bateman, I just have one more place to go and then I'll be apparating."

"Well then, do tell me how the recipe turn out for you eh?"

"Of course. Thanks again for the tips!"

She bid the old woman farewell with a single nod and started weaving her way through the crowded path. She would have just used the levitating charm on the bags if she wasn't so distracted. She still wasn't sure if she could pull it off or if being in the kitchen again would distraught her too much.

Hermione must have been entertaining her thoughts too much because she really believed her mind was playing tricks on her. Surely that guy with the slightly wavy, slightly long hair with oil stained white shirt and rather faded, torn in different places, worn out jeans carrying a small toolbox wasn't Ronald Weasley himself coming out of a Quidditch supply shop!

Hermione thought back; did she ever have a thing for a guy who knows his tools?

_What in the world am I thinking about?_

She shook her head, as if that very action would chase away whatever drool factor that was beginning to set in.

Before she could continue further though, the hot tool man guy walked away from the shop and turned. Their eyes met.

Hot damn, Hermione thought. That is Ronald Billius Weasley; looking so much better than the day before when he had collapsed in her arms.

He smiled, obviously pleasantly surprised to find her there. It was then she noticed the limp, and how it seemed to take a lot of effort for him to just walk that short distance to where she was standing.

Hot damn turned to plain frustration.

"Ron, what are you doing out of bed?" She made sure there was a convincing frown now etched on her face.

He seemed amused. "Well, it's almost eleven in the morning Hermione, and like every other normal people, I do wake up and run errands."

"I know that! But you're supposed to be resting, Neville said-"

"I did what Neville said. You'd be happy to know I slept the rest of the day yesterday and all through the night like a baby."

Hermione looked at him doubtfully. "Who was up to check on your dad?" Ron raised his eyebrow in surprise. "Ginny told me before how Mr. Weasley sometimes need to be calmed at night."

"George slept over last night." Ron answered. "Are you going to keep lecturing me or let me carry that for you?"

Hermione's grasp on the paper bags tightened. "You're not carrying these. I was going to put levitation charm on them."

"Fine then, do it now."

Knowing Ron would never let the subject die, she muttered the charm and released her grasp. Both bags now levitated next to her.

"Are those for the dinner tonight?"

"Yup."

"I'm impressed."

"Don't say that. I haven't even started cooking them!"

Ron shrugged. "You worry too much Hermione. I'm sure they'll love whatever it is you're cooking for us. I know I will."

Hermione smirked. "Well Ron, you love food in general."

"That I do." Ron laughed and they started walking. "Are you heading to the Burrow now?"

"Well I was planning on apparating there from here since I already have all the ingredients with me."

"Then aren't you glad you bump into me? No one would be around to let you in otherwise. I have some spells up to guard the house when there's no one in."

"Where's Mr. Weasley?"

"George brought him to their store; something about testing a new muggle magic trick." Ron replied while studying their surrounding. "If you ask me, that's just the twins' way of giving me some more rest time...I think it's safe to apparate from here."

"Right." Hermione nodded and grabbed for one of the bags. Ron took the other before she could protest and apparated right before her eyes. "Ugh, he'll be the death of me!"

-

Ron was lifting up the spell by the time Hermione apparated next to him just outside the front door. She didn't say a word as they entered the living room, choosing to study her surrounding instead. It had been awhile since she had last been there.

There was a television in the living room now, probably Ron's way of entertaining his father. Other than that, everything else seemed to be quite the same. The famous Weasley clock looked a little battered but still working. There were three names added she noticed. Two of them were Harry and herself. Mrs. Weasley had added them in shortly before they left for the horcrux hunt. The last was installed a year ago, when Bill and Fleur had their first son, Rene Percival Weasley.

Currently, it showed Ron and Hermione, Home.

And it felt like home to her.

Ron headed straight to the kitchen and Hermione figured that was where she should be as well. Ron placed the bag on the kitchen table and she copied his action, suddenly feeling a little out of place. The familiar smell of fresh grass out in the backyard and soft rays of sunlight penetrating through the kitchen somewhat calmed her down.

A lot of things had happened in this kitchen.

"Tea?"

Hermione was pulled back from her thoughts and was now staring at the imploring eyes of her friend. "Yes, please."

While Ron was busy boiling water, Hermione decided she should start unpacking the ingredients. "So, I heard some wizard was going to start a Quidditch club for the kids, did you sign up? Is that why you were at the Quidditch supply shop?"

He turned to look at her incredulously. "They're recruiting kids Hermione, you know, eleven year olds?"

"Your point Ron?" She smirked.

"Well I'm not eleven now am-" Ron paused, realization sitting in. Hermione couldn't hold back the laughter and burst out into giggles. "Ha ha, very funny."

By the time Hermione had set the ingredients in order on the working table, Ron had already settled two cups of tea on the dining table and a couple of toasts that he had re-heated with the heating charm. She joined him at the table and took the sit opposite his.

"So, what were you doing at Diagon Alley then?"

"Never back down do you?" Ron teased.

"You know I never." She smiled. "This is why you should just answer and shut me up."

"Repaired some pipe related problems at that shop." Ron answered as he passed a toast and urged her to eat. "It's all I have but I really think you should have some breakfast in you."

"Thanks." Hermione took a bite and thought it was the best piece of toast she had eaten in years. "So they get you to fix it any time of the day?"

Ron nodded as he took a gulp of his drink. "Sometimes at night too but those had been rare. I enjoyed it though, it's a good feeling to help fix something that is broken. Well, I'm sure you know how that feels seeing that's your job."

Hermione nodded. "It is. Sort of an escape doesn't it?"

"Yeah?"

Hermione nodded again. "Makes you forget about your own problems and it makes you happy to see that you helped to fix someone else's life. Funny though, I didn't think I'd be working with Parvati of all the girls at Hogswart."

Ron chuckled. "How is she by the way?"

"Good. I mean, we do talk about you know…but most of the time I think she's like us, putting our energy into our work."

Ron's expression noticeably changed a little. There was that flash of sadness Hermione was sure had just crossed on her face as well. "Well, I have to start degnome the garden, I didn't do it yesterday because I was resting."

"We were worried okay? You passed out! And then I couldn't wait for you to wake up because I had to be at work and of course Ginny and Harry were off hexing some leftover Death Eaters somewhere and couldn't get my owl! Thankfully George was around although I did get smack on the face by one of their inventions when I flooed there!"

Ron found this to be utterly funny and couldn't help bursting in laughter. "I miss your panic self Hermione."

_Well I missed you!_ "I'm serious Ron!"

Ron stopped laughing and nodded his head. "I'm sorry, I know you're worried but it's nothing really, I've fainted before."

"So I've been told." Hermione replied. "But while you were unconscious, there's a group of worried people working on you. I can't help but worry anyway, I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing you that way."

"You don't have to. It's not your problem."

"Well that's the thing isn't it? I want to make it my problem." I know you're not that thick Ron, you know what I want!

It looked as if Ron was going to say something but changed his mind. Hermione wished Ron would argue and defend himself, she needed to hear his reasons. Why had he been pushing her away all these time? Didn't waiting patiently for two years for him to come around say anything about her?

"Are you going to leave and come back later or are you staying?" Ron finally said.

"If you want me to leave just-"

"I didn't say I want you to leave!"

Hermione sighed. Perhaps getting into an argument wasn't the best thing to do for now. Perhaps Ron would open up if she didn't come off too pushy. _Well waiting in the sideline for two years counts as not pushy, isn't it?_

"I'd like to stay if you don't mind. I need an early start to prepare."

"I don't mind at all. The kitchen is all yours, try not to burn it."

Hermione rolled her eyes but couldn't help the small smile on her face as she watched him walked out of the kitchen and to the garden. She'd rather he sloth out in front of the television (which she was still curious if the Burrow now had electricity or it was magically run) than straining himself further, but knowing Ron and his stubbornness, she unwillingly held back.

-

_It was a chain-reaction that didn't seem to want to slow down. The moment both Neville and Hermione had managed to stop all the death eaters that were attacking the group Luna was with, she heard the anguished cry of Ron screaming. _

_Her eyes immediately searched for Harry, hoping that he was within Ron's reach. She found him supporting Ginny up, it looked like Ginny had taken quite a beating in their battle with the trolls. She made a run for them, knowing Neville and Luna were safe. _

"_Harry! I heard Ron screaming! Where is he Harry?" _

"_I don't know…he was…" _

_But Harry's sentence was cut off by Ron's cries again and nothing else mattered then. Hermione followed her instinct and made a run for it, knowing both Harry and Ginny were doing the same thing. She thought she heard Ginny pleading for her brother's safety. _

_Please let him be all right. Please let him be all right. _

_She found Lavender's body first. _

_There was not a drop of blood on her face. In fact, if Hermione didn't know any better, it looked as if she was peacefully asleep. _

_She saw Luna rushing towards the body but Hermione didn't follow her, instead, she searched the area for Ron. _

_It didn't take too long for her to find him. It was a scene that would forever etched in her mind for as long as she lives. _

_Ginny was the first to move. She ran as if her feet were on fire. She was screaming too. _

_Harry was next. He collapsed next to Ron and she thought she heard his strangled cries. _

_It seemed surreal. She knew there'd be casualties in this war. She knew that most likely, some of these casualties would be familiar faces instead of strangers. She knew that she might be one of them as well. But all these knowledge didn't lessen the pain when she was affronted with them. _

_Percy Weasley was sprawled on the ground, lifeless. His head was now rested on Bill's lap. The eldest Weasley brother was crying. _

_Arthur Weasley was half-conscious, his body heavily leaning on Charlie, who seemed to be struggling with his emotions. _

_Ron's back was facing her, but she didn't need to be near enough to know that it was Molly he was cradling in his arms. _

_Hermione had never heard Ron cried the way he did right now. In fact, the only time she had seen him cry was during Dumbledore's funeral, and even then, he didn't let out anything more than a choke sob. _

_He was rocking her back and forth, with Ginny's cries now invading her ears, when the twins came running towards them. They seemed torn at first, at who they should run after to, seeing a dead brother they never really reconcile with lying on the ground, their injured father or their unconscious mother. _

_They went after Ginny. _

_Fred reached her first and before he could ask anything, Ginny had flung herself towards him and started crying. "Mom's dead Fred! Mom's dead!" _

_She wasn't just unconscious? _

_George had grabbed Ron's shoulders to stop him from rocking. _

_Hermione found herself now kneeling down next to George, facing Ron. She didn't know when she had started running there but the pain on her knees from the impact of her ungraceful descent to the coarse ground told her this much. _

"_What happened Ron?" George asked with much difficulty. Hermione realized George was choking back his own tears. _

_When the brothers' eyes met, Hermione saw for the first time, the sorrow that was etched in Ron's. His head was bleeding although the cut didn't seem too deep to cause worry. There was some kind of bruise developing around his neck but Hermione didn't think much of it seeing how he was still very much alive. She chanced a glance at his waist, and noticed that his wound had started to bleed again. He really does look like someone's baby brother, fragile and lost. And it unnerved Hermione for a second, because he had always been her pillar of strength; the one who would give her a gentle nudge when she was hesitant, and the one who kept her steady when she felt like falling. The young man she was looking at now, was reduced to a child who had just lost his mother. _

"_He killed him." _

_It was full of hate and vengeance. _

_They turned towards the direction Ron's stare was now fixed on. _

_She wondered why she didn't notice it earlier. He was right there in the open for everyone to see. _

_Peter Pettigrew with his severed iron arm and a deep slashed throat, sprawled on the ground with his eyes wide open in shock, staring up at the sky. _

_What had happened here?_

Hermione blinked her tears away. She hates peeling onions. Sure she could have them peeled by magic, but past experience had shown her that it isn't wise to practice magic when your mind are somewhere else. A bucket of squished, exploded onions was something she didn't want repeated ever again.

It was almost six now, and all the main dishes were cook and waiting to be served. She had only one dish left to do and that was the traditional onion soup. It was the easiest dish too and something she always had when she used to spend the remaining of her summer holidays at the Burrow with her friends. She felt it'd be incomplete if she had left that dish out.

Ron had came back from dengoming the garden about an hour after she started cooking. He was drenched in sweat, his face red from the heat, his hair tousled and wild. It was his parched, pale lips that warned her he might have exerted too much of his energy for his own good.

He was smiling though and commented on how it had been a long time since the kitchen smelt that good with cook food. He rubbed at his tummy subconsciously, which caused her face to crack in a smirk.

She had a sandwich and glass of pumpkin juice ready for him, knowing how hungry he would get after dengoming the garden. She had learnt of this ritual from the years of spending her summer in the Burrow too. Ron, more so than the other Weasleys, would come barging into the kitchen claiming he was hungry he could eat a cow after working his butt off in the garden. Mrs. Weasley, she remembered, was always too happy to serve him some food and a glass of pumpkin juice, although she would nag about him washing his hands first.

Ron had sat there quietly and ate his lunch and drank his juice while she continued her tasks. The silence that had encompassed them was comfortable though and for awhile, she let herself believe that this was how it would have been if they had continued being together. That they could be as happy as Harry and Ginny and Neville and Luna.

He commended her on the chicken sandwich, and burped loudly for good measure. She had chuckled at that and refilled his glass once more before he thanked her for lunch and left to take a quick shower.

When he came back down, his hair was still dripping wet and he smelt of lavender. Ron hated that smell, she knew that even back in school. He claimed it was too girlish for him. But she figured he used them daily now, because Molly always smelled of fresh lavender.

He asked how the cooking was going and they talked about the dishes she now was expert in cooking and he had marvelled at her culinary skills. And then he yawned and she had sent him off to bed for a nap, no questions asked.

Other than the sound coming from the television in the living room (Hermione always feel the need to have the television set on just to overcome the complete silence at her own apartment), everything else was peaceful and quiet and Hermione quite enjoyed this alone time she had for herself in the kitchen. She felt belonged here.

"Hey."

She looked up and smiled at the sight of a freshly awaken Ron, who was now yawning the rest of his sleep away. His bedridden hair sticking out in every direction, there were faint pillow lines on his cheeks and his shirt slightly crumpled from the sleep. His parched, pale lips still worry her but she chose not to comment on it for now. Ron seemed to be in a good mood.

"Had a good nap?"

He nodded and sat facing her. "I'm good at peeling onions without crying."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. I was the only one stupid enough to linger around in the kitchen while my brothers pretended to be busy doing something. So I got the job of peeling onions and I sort of got immune to the whole crying thing."

"I'm impressed!" Hermione cried. "I've been crying for the past ten minutes over these."

"Here, let me take over and you can...do whatever you have to do next."

She passed the small bucket of onions to him and shrugged. "I have nothing else to do, I just need the onions."

"Are you making onion soup?" Ron's eyes seemed to glint for a second.

"With freshly baked bread to dip in." Hermione grinned.

"Heaven." Ron grinned back. He started peeling the onions and Hermione began watching him. "You know, when I smell onions, I think of you."

Hermione cringed. "I don't see any compliment in that whatsoever!"

Ron laughed and shook his head. "Well, to anyone else that'd be quite strange yeah."

"Insulting seems to come to mind right now Ron." Hermione huffed.

"Remember that talk we had by the lake under that old oak tree?"

Hermione admit, she had been shocked by that declaration. Where did that come from? "How can I forget Ron."

Ron seemed to blush as his gaze dropped to the onion he was currently peeling. "Well, you were peeling onions when I stole you from mom and Ginny. You were still smelling like onions when we got to the lake. I thought wow, my stomach's all queasy and I wasn't sure if it was from the anxiety I was getting to...tell you how I feel or if the combination of lingering onions and salt water and moist grass that was doing it. Your hands on my face when we first kissed...onions smell all over..."

Hermione was laughing now. She thought she was going to have a fit from laughing this much, she couldn't stop to apologise to him. But Ron seemed amused as well and was smirking at the memory.

This was the sight that greeted both Harry and Ginny when they apparated just outside the kitchen that late afternoon.

_Ps: don't worry, I have every intention to explain what happened to Molly, Percy and Pettigrew in one of my chapters. And I hope this ending makes up for the cliffy on chapter 2! grins_


	4. Substitute

_An: Again, thank you so much for the reviews. I seriously appreciate them! It took me six months to convince myself that I should write a HP fic and see if it works. Your reviews are assuring and I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint you. _

_Ali: Ah, I'm so happy you approve of the flashbacks! I didn't think it'd make anybody cry so thank you for crying and sorry for making you cry? Hehe_

_Qb1: sorry I don't know your real name, but thanks to you as well. I hope that someone you knew keep on smiling through everything life throws at him/her. We will come to Ron's disconnecting from everyone in Chapter 6 hopefully. And this chapter is only 6 pages long, it's a tad bit short compared to the first three. Longer chapter next! I'll try my very best to update once a day :D_

_Greenpluff: (giggles) That kitchen scene is oh so hard to write, I didn't want to make it too fluffy but I'm glad you find it cute! And Yay, you like the flashbacks, I love writing those too! And your guess about Wormtail…good job! ;)_

Substitute 

_Hermione figured it was never easy being Ron Weasley. _

_There was always someone he felt he needed to protect and put first than himself. And that list had recently been added when they had kissed and professed their feelings. _

_Now Ron had a girlfriend to worry about. _

_It really doesn't matter if she was capable enough to look after herself. That was just in Ron's nature, to look out for everyone he holds dear in his heart, and she knew this. _

_Perhaps what Harry did was wise after all. Sure it'd hurt Ginny and himself, but it'd at least mean he had one less person to worry about. That the thought of her being far away and safe, a consolation comfort in these dark times. _

_The invisible tent, courtesy of the Weasley Twins, were now their makeshift home as they continued their journey in searching that final horcrux. It also comes with a self-activated heater to warm them in the night. This helped a lot as well, since they were usually careful not to start a fire and exposed their position to the dangers out there. _

_Harry was sitting near the entrance of the closed tent; still fuming. _

_Hermione was too tired to be angry for a long period of time. She had given up on anger and was now just clinging on to hope that they'd make it through this hunt alive. Their paths seemed to meet with more danger as the search went further. There was a time when she really thought that was IT, she'd die right there and both Ron and Harry had to continue and save the world without her. _

"_He can't keep doing this." _

_She almost didn't catch what Harry just said, too lost in her own troubled thoughts. Harry was glaring at her now, as if this was all her fault to begin with. _

"_That's just Ron I suppose." She said, resigned. She looked down at the sleeping form of her boyfriend next to her. _

"_One of these days, he wouldn't be so lucky and-"_

"_Shut up Harry! I don't want you to even say those thoughts out loud!" Hermione whispered loudly. She was sure she would have started crying at that point if it hadn't been for the fact that she was just too tired to do just that. _

"_Well it's a possibility isn't it? And if we don't do anything about it anytime soon, it might just happen and then what would we do? It'd be too late! I can't face the Weasleys and tell them their youngest son died because he came out here to help me with my problem! I can't face Ginny and said her brother died because of me." _

"_Oh Harry, this really isn't just about you." She sighed. _

_Harry had moved closer, almost right at the end of Ron's feet, his eyes boring into hers. "Did he tell you something? Did he tell you his plans about sacrificing himself just so I can go on and kill Voldemort and save the wizarding world? Did he go all noble on you?" _

"_Well it doesn't take a lot to understand why he did what he did, does it?" Hermione huffed. "I honestly don't get you boys. What is it with you and dying? Why can't it be all three of us surviving it all?" _

"_Because people actually die in wars Hermione." Harry replied curtly. _

"_I'm not stupid Harry." _

"_Didn't say you are." _

"_Look, when it comes to you and the final battle with Voldemort, Ron doesn't take anything less than you coming out of it alive. He wouldn't even take you dying along with Voldemort just so the entire world is safe as an option. No way." Here, Hermione paused and shake her head defiantly. " Voldemort's going to die, you're going to live and become the greatest Auror in our generation, married to the only woman who can love you unconditionally and give his parents lots of grandchildren and make his sister the happiest woman in this world that she'd be smiling when she dies in her sleep at a very old age with you by her side. Now he's willing to sacrifice himself if it means you get to live and experience all those things he envisioned for you. See Harry, he's not just thinking about you, there's Ginny and his parents."_

_She looked up to find Harry wiping his angry tears away with the back of his hand. "What about you then Hermione? Doesn't he think what would happen if he dies and leave you behind?" _

_She nodded. " And then there's me. He figured, here we have one of Harry Potter's bestfriend, she helped him in the final battle so technically, she's a hero too isn't she? She's also smart, probably the smartest witch in a long while and her intelligence would be needed to restore the damage that was done from the war. And in his eyes, she's beautiful…he'd imagine she would work her way through the ranks and make a name for herself. She'd go to many functions, meet a lot of important people and then one day Harry, he saw her going to one of those, only this time, she was introduced to a successful, good looking young man with a good heart and he'd sweep her off her feet and they'd marry and have a good life." _

"_That's just stupid." Harry choked. _

"_Oh, you haven't heard the rest Harry, there are more stupid things sitting in that head of his." _

"_I suppose you know what they are." _

_She nodded. "Ron's a strategist, isn't he? We all know that well enough by now. I bet you Harry, that he'd spent some time on his own, just picturing what the future would be where Harry, Ron and Hermione exist. He'd seen you being a successful Auror of course, sometimes he sees you as the miracle that would eventually happen to the Chudley Cannons but most of the time, he sees you as the most feared Auror to walk this earth after the second war. Then he takes you out of the picture and he started seeing a horrible future for his sister. He decided you can't be replaced, not The Boy Who Lived. So he decided to take me out of the picture and that just won't do. Not only would he not make another day without me, he decided that the Ministry would be so lost unless guided by her intelligence." Hermione paused and rolled her eyes at this. " So he figured no, she can't be substituted with someone else, and he decided to take himself out of the picture." _

_Harry snorted. "Let me guess, Ron Weasley can be substituted?" _

_Hermione smirked and nodded. "But of course Harry! They still have five other boys don't they? Losing one would only mean one less mouth to feed and a spare bedroom. Bill and Charlie already have lives of their own. Lets not even talk about Percy. The Twins will start many more WWW franchise and his little sister will be happily married to you and Hermione will go on to greater things, he was confident of that. At the end of the day, he figured Ron is the best to be sent out and sacrificed and everyone will still live happily ever after." _

_Harry shook his head. "That's messed up." _

"_That's Ron's head." _

"_Did he tell you all these?" _

_Hermione frowned. "Are you kidding me? Since when do Ron tells anyone what he REALLY thinks? He usually says stuff without thinking first, probably just to make me mad. "_

"_Then how do you know all these?" _

"_How can I not, Harry? I love him too much." _

_Harry seemed to blush at this sudden declaration of feelings that his gaze fell to his own hands in front of him. _

"_There will be no happily ever after if he dies. There's just-"_

"_He doesn't see it that way Harry, and that's stupid, you're right." _

"_I don't think I can live if he dies." Harry whispered. "I don't think I can live if you die, Hermione." _

"_I know. I feel the same way too Harry. We all do. I'd sacrifice myself in a heartbeat if it means you both live. I know you'd do the same thing too. We're putting everyone else first, that's because we love them. But there's a difference between Ron and the two of us." _

_Harry ran his fingers through his messy hair and sighed. "Yeah?" _

"_We sacrifice ourselves in hope that they'd live to see the future and even though we're gone, we hope that our spirits will live on in their hearts. We want them to miss us and not forget us and always think of us. Am I right here Harry?" _

_Harry was smiling at her and she knew she had been right. She doubts there was anything left that the boys would do that would surprise her. Hermione loves her 'boys' and even though they sometimes stop talking to her because of something she said or did, they always make their way back to her._

"_I don't think I can ever keep a secret from you Hermione. You read me like an open book." _

"_Are you making fun of me and books again?" Hermione asked. _

_Harry laughed. "No, for once, I'm being honest. That's exactly what I hope will happen should I die. So Ron's different than us." _

_Hermione nodded again as she stole another glance at her boyfriend. She thought she heard him groaned in his sleep. "Ron sacrifice himself thinking that everyone he loves will see the future and move on without him, without really losing anything much and be happy. Which is wrong! He doesn't see it! He thinks so little of himself and that's what frustrates me! He needs to know that any amount of success or books in this world could never substitute living a life without him." _

_Harry's gaze shifted to the sleeping form of Ron. The deep gash on his forehead still looked rather fresh to him. "We have a stubborn one in our hands Hermione. You can tell him as many times as you want, I don't think he'd back down." _

"_So what do we do Harry?" _

"_We stay alive. All three of us." _

_Hermione smiled. The conversation would have gone longer than that if it hadn't been for Ron's soft groan. He was suddenly thirsty and finding it hard to get up so Harry helped him up while Hermione reached for their bottle of water. _

_They stayed up the entire night, making sure Ron was comfortable while the fever ran its course. They had survived another day and that was all that mattered then. _

-

It was almost eight and there were still no signs of the Weasley twins or Neville and Luna. While Hermione fret over the last minute touches with Ginny helping out in whatever ways she could, Ron and Harry had retreated to the living room to watch whatever program that was on television.

Harry soon found out that Ron's favorite channel was the Cartoon Network.

"Hey, remember when we were young and stupid?"

Ron turned to Harry and nodded. "What did we do yesterday?"

Harry rolled his eyes and smacked Ron upside the head playfully. "I don't know about you Ron, but my young and stupid days are gone for more than two years now."

"Aww come on mate, you still look young and stupid to me."

Harry huffed and this amused Ron greatly. Since when do Aurors huff? "Do you guys still have the ford Anglia?"

Ron raised his eyebrow in question. "You know that one was history Harry. Even the forest is hardly even there anymore, I'd be surprised if it survived the war."

Harry's face fell. "That was fun."

"Chased by spiders?" Ron gasped.

"Don't be so thick. I meant the flying car."

"Oh yeah. That seems ancient now."

"Funny though, we're not even twenty for one more year." Harry said and then giggled at Tazmanian Devil swallowing a grand piano.

"Yet that didn't cross your mind when you married my sister." Ron pointed out.

"I thought you can't wait to have me as your brother in law!"

"I was just trying to get rid of Ginny."

"We feel the love Ron."

"Good to know." Ron grinned. "So what have you both been doing other than getting my sister fight Voldemort's leftovers and constantly putting herself in danger and make me worry?"

"Well I'd tell you but the image would scarred you for life."

"Okay you both need to get out and have a life."

Harry winced. "Sorry brother in law, but I don't think you have a place to talk about that. You don't even want to join us on weekends."

"Too much hassle Harry." Ron said, almost in a whisper. "Things could get messy and besides, I can't live my dad alone, you know how it is."

"You know there's a way to solve that. And the twins could drop by and take care of your dad for a while, couldn't they? You know Ron, Dad does have four other sons who are willing enough to drop by and take care of him. I could do it too when I'm off duty."

Ron smiled. It always made him warm inside when Harry referred to his dad as Dad. They really were tied by marriage now.

"If you're here looking after Dad, what would I do with myself out there Harry?"

"Well, I thought you and…Hermionecoulddosomethingtogether."

Ron smirked. "Please Harry, she's just being nice and cooking us all dinner."

"She's your girlfriend Ron, war shouldn't change that."

Ron stole a glance towards the kitchen, and satisfied that both ladies were preoccupied, turned to look back at Harry. "It changed a lot of things Harry. I can't hold her back."

"And yet she remains single for the last two years, waiting for you. She seems to do that all on her own Ron."

"Can we not talk about this now?"

"When are we going to talk about it then? You're never out with the rest of us. I hardly ever see you because of work. We're bestfriends, or did that change as well? Because if it does, I didn't get the memo."

Seeing that Ron chose to keep quiet and not answer, Harry went on. "I don't think I could go through a day after the war if it hadn't been for your sister. She keeps me sane and I guess I keep her sane too. Did you know that Hermione still look over her shoulder every five minutes when she's out there?"

Ron frowned. "What's wrong with her?"

"Afraid I guess. You just never know if you're being followed now would you? I wonder if she still has those nightmares though, she never talks about that anymore."

"Nightmares?"

Harry nodded. "I guess we're all not right up there after the war eh? Some screws loose I bet."

"I don't want her burdened with my problems." Ron replied.

"Yet you'd kill anyone in a heartbeat if they try to harm her just so she'd stop looking over her shoulders."

Ron sighed. He combed his fingers through his hair and couldn't find it in him to laugh at Slyvester's yet another failed attempt to capture that yellow bird. "That's the problem isn't it Harry? I can't jump in front of her and make sure she's safe anymore. I mean, have you look at me lately?"

Harry frowned. "What's wrong with you?"

"Oh nice try Harry." Ron rolled his eyes. "What's wrong is that I'm constantly sick. I can't keep up with anything anymore, I'm barely surviving on my own Harry. I don't want to hold anyone back, my brothers have so much to look forward to and I don't want Ginny to get stuck in this place and play mom to both me and dad when we all know she's so much better than that. Hermione's so much better than that. I know she'd drop everything and be with me if I let her and I don't want that for her!"

There were tears in Ron's eyes, something that surprised Harry tremendously. Ron had always been good at hiding his emotions. Harry wondered if this was the first time Ron had actually said what had been in his mind all those time. He also realized getting Ron all worked up probably wasn't the best thing to do considering how much paler he suddenly looked.

"But Ron…don't you think that's Hermione's choice to make?"

Harry never did get a reply because the twins had apparated right on top of the coffee table and broke it into half.


	5. Everything Chocolate

There was an unspoken tension in the air; Hermione knew everyone in the room felt it too. She watched helplessly as Ginny repeated the spell again only to be let down when nothing happened. Harry had gone from helping his wife to cast the spell together to just standing next to her, defeated.

"It's not working Ginny, please stop." George pleaded and finally, breaking the silence.

"It's not like we meant for it to happen." Fred added.

"Yeah, we didn't know Ron had shifted that table to the left." George countered.

Ginny paused and looked up to her two brothers, frustration etched on her youthful face. "You could have flooed in! You _should_ have flooed in!"

"We thought we were late," explained Fred.

"And you know how small the fireplace is," added George.

"So we figured while Dad flooed in…"

"We should just apparate instead…"

"And arrive here at the exact same time." Fred finished.

"We don't want to keep you waiting, especially Hermione." George of course, had to add.

"Yeah, we want her to cook dinner at the Burrow more often."

Hermione rolled her eyes. Leave it to the twins to crack a joke while their sister was obviously frustrated. Over what exactly, Hermione wasn't sure. It was just a coffee table right?

"The fact of the matter is, you both should know well not to apparate here. What did I keep telling you both? Floo is your best friend!" Ginny cried. "And this…this coffee table…isn't just a coffee table George and Fred Weasley, it's one of the very few things left that weren't ruined in the bloody war and mom always put our sandwiches and tea on it every night while we gather around as she told us stories of our uncles and grandparents! Have you two forgotten about that?"

Hermione's heart fell. She turned to Harry, who incidentally, was looking at her as well. Somehow, she knew that Harry was feeling the same thing she did. This wasn't their territory at all. This is a Weasley thing.

"Ginevra." George approached his sister and when he offered her a hug, Ginny didn't push him away. "We remember."

"And we're sorry it's broken." Fred said.

"But you forget one thing Ginny." George said, ruffling her hair.

"What's that?" Ginny frowned.

"Memories forever live in here." Fred said, as he pointed to his chest, where the heart is.

"And in here." George added, now stabbing his finger at his own temple.

"She's everywhere really." Hermione turned to find Ron coming down the stairs. He had left to put Mr. Arthur back to bed. He had quite a day at the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes he claimed and had an early dinner of KFC, courtesy of the twins and their way to incorporate something muggle for his own amusement.

There was that sadness again, thought Hermione as she watched him came down the last few steps of the stairs. It was true indeed, no matter how broken the Burrow had been after the war and the repairs done to make sure it continued to stand, Molly Weasley's presence was felt everywhere.

"But enough about that and the silly table, I'm starving, lets eat." Ron continued, already making his way to the kitchen.

"But-" George didn't get to finish his sentence as Ginny glared and shook her head no, at him. "Yeah, let's eat, I'm starving myself."

As the Weasleys made their way to the kitchen, Harry slowed down to join her at the back. He threw her a reassuring smile and then sighed softly. "So, this is the awkwardness you guys felt around me when Sirius died."

"Something like that." Hermione nodded as they entered the kitchen. She muttered a spell under her breath and the dishes she had prepared appeared on the table. In an instant, the tension left the Burrow, replaced by widely grinning group of hungry wizards and witches.

"Nothing smell as good as a home cook meal!" George exclaimed as he eyed the feast.

"Blimey Hermione, did you make all these yourself?" Fred asked.

"Everything except the onion soup; Ron helped me with that." Hermione said as she eyed the empty seat next to Ron and braved herself to sit there. Two empty seats next to her would be for Neville and Luna.

"Well Ron would be an expert on that, wouldn't he?" George said.

"He could cook it with his eyes closed." Fred agreed.

"You made it for me once when we couldn't fall asleep one night, remember that Ron?" Ginny smiled.

Ron nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"I remember onion soup on a very cold night." Harry said dreamily. "These look amazing Hermione."

"Thank you." Hermione smiled nervously. "I hope they taste good as well."

"I'm sure they do." Ron said. "Do we have to wait for Neville and Luna?"

"Oh yeah, it'd be kind of rude if we tuck in first, wouldn't it?" Ginny asked.

"Well, they might be hold back from an emergency, you know how it is at St. Mungo's. I think we should just start without them, there're plenty here for everyone." Hermione said.

"I'd still eat if you had told us to wait." Ron said, already reaching for a chicken wing. "I've been tortured by the wonderful smell coming from the kitchen all day."

"Enough to make a starving man go mad." Fred nodded.

"Tuck in then." George urged as he reached for the bowl of mashed potato.

"I'm sorry I don't cook as often as I should Harry." Ginny said as she dipped a small piece of bread into her onion soup. "I know you prefer home cook meals than take outs."

"Maybe you should be a housewife, this way, your five brothers can stop worrying about you." George said.

"And then you can drop by our place and bring some of those home cook meals you were cooking for your husband." Fred agreed.

"Or maybe you both can go find your own wife and get her to cook your meals." Ginny retorted.

"Right then, Hermione will you marry me?" George blurted out.

"Best idea so far George."

"I know Fred."

Hermione almost choked on her piece of bread and stole a glance at Ron. If looks could kill, the twins would be dead by now.

"Honestly George, when you propose to someone, you must actually love the woman!" Ginny nagged.

Harry seemed content on eating his dinner quietly.

"Hermione, I love you, and your cooking skills." George said.

"I have you both know that even if I do get married, I will definitely not be a housewife." Hermione claimed. "There is nothing wrong with being a housewife of course."

"And she'd like to have a say in how things are run in the family," Ron said. "Which means, you can't test any of your creations on your future kids."

This, for some reason, made everyone laugh. Everyone save for Hermione. She couldn't believe it, but Ron remembered. All these times and he remembered what she had said before, under that old oak tree!

After that, her appetite grew and everyone fell into comfortable silence, each entertaining to their own thoughts while ravishing the dishes spread in front of them. It wasn't until she stole another glance towards Ron did she realize he had stopped eating and was picking on the piece of bread and dumping breadcrumbs in the leftover onion soup.

"Did you like what I cook tonight?" She asked, resting her palm gently on his arm to get his attention.

"Yes of course!" Ron replied; surprised she had to even ask. "You wouldn't hear those two shut up if you cook something horrible."

"Hey!" George interjected.

"That's rude." Fred added.

"Don't you guys ever get tired of finishing each others' sentences?" Harry asked, amused.

"Nope." Both twins replied.

Hermione ignored them and turned back to Ron. "You aren't eating."

"I ate!" Ron objected, showing his empty plate. "A chicken wing, mashed potato, mixed veggie and this soup."

"Exactly my point!" Hermione exclaimed. "You ate at least three chicken drumsticks and a handful of bacon and eggs and you'll finish it off with a couple of desserts back at Hogwarts. I had to keep reminding you not to stuff yourself too much."

Ron shrugged. "I was a growing boy then, I ate a lot. I don't eat that much anymore."

"Won't you at least have an éclair then? For dessert?" Hermione urged, already reaching for one.

"I'm kind of full right now. I will make sure I eat one later okay?"

Hermione pulled her hand back and nodded. "You better! I made them especially for you. I know how much you love everything chocolate."

_She found him under the old oak tree, looking out toward the lake. It was a bit unnerving for Hermione, to be there. Not because it was the exact same place they had both declared their love for each other, but the fact that the lake and the oak tree looked the same; undisturbed. As if the war had not just came and passed and destroyed everything within its path. As if the war had never happened at all. _

_Yet the very reason why she had found him there was because of the war. He was escaping reality, even if just for a while, and she felt bad for always having to pull him away from his hiding place. _

_She sat on the bench right under the tree – something that Charlie had conveniently placed there. She put the glass of pumpkin juice next to her and the chocolate muffin on her lap, carefully holding on to it. It was still warm, just the way Ron likes it. _

_There was no need to call for him, he would come when he was tired enough to sit. For now, she was content at studying the back of him from where she was. You can tell so much of a person just by the way he stands; this Hermione had learnt after days of the same routine. _

_Time waiting for Ron to come to her was spent memorizing certain chapters of Hogwarts: A History. She never brought the book with her on her little waiting for Ron routine but her mind never stops working. She would randomly figured out a chapter and the page and she would match that with a quote found in that page. Sometimes, the quote that she recalled would bring her back to the days when Harry, Ron and her had gone to find and destroy the horcruxes. For example, when she quoted something that Helga Hufflepuff had done, she would think about the cup and the journey they went through together to finding and destroying it. _

_Ron was right, she figured; it was tough for them back then, but looking at it now, it had been bittersweet. In fact, she had found herself smiling at the memories and sometimes even laughed about certain things. Like the time when they didn't perform a counter spell properly and it backfired on them. She had a sprained ankle because of it and Harry had a deep gash on his arm that left behind yet another scar. Ron had burnt marks on his body and they were all covered in dark soot. It was horrible, they were hungry and cold and their medical supply was running low. And then Ron's stomach started to growl. Loudly. _

_You know some day, we'll think back to this day and laugh our arses off._

"_You're smiling." _

_She looked up to find Ron making his way back to the bench, as always, his expression was unreadable. "Sorry, I was just-"_

"_Sorry for smiling?" _

"_Well, I don't think it's right to-"_

"_Smile when everyone is grieving?" Ron cut in again as he stood in front of her. _

"_Is this how it's going to be like from now on? You're going to finish off my thoughts for me? Like the Twins?" _

_His gaze fixed on her for a few more seconds before he moved to sit next to her, a glass of pumpkin juice in between them. "We need more smiles around here." _

"_You could do with one yourself." Hermione said. "I missed it." _

_He turned and smiled. "I still smile you know, it's just lately, I can't help grimacing instead. Not by choice but I guess it's a better trade than being six feet under yeah?" _

"_Ron, please…don't…"_

_He took the glass of juice and had a sip before looking back at her. "Is that for me?" _

_She wiped away the tears and cleared her throat and then looked down at the muffin in her hands. She passed it to him and as the warmth of the palm of his hands covered hers, a pain so tight, encompassed her heart. _

_She missed him. _

"_Did you make this?" _

_She nodded. _

"_And the chocolate biscuit from yesterday as well?" _

_She nodded again. "I thought it'd be easier to win you with anything chocolate." _

_He smiled again. "Looks like it's working." _

"_Is it really? Does this means you'll stop pushing me away?" _

"_I'm not pushing you away." _

"_Yes, you are, and you know it. I'm not mad you know, I think I understand why. I just want you to know, incase you've forgotten, that I'm a very stubborn witch and I stick to the things I believe in and I don't intend on giving up." _

After dinner, George and Fred bid an early goodnight, having to start work early the next day. Ever since the war, the joke shop was now only a cover. The truth was, both Fred and George, like Ginny, work for the Ministry. They invented a lot of useful gadgets for the Aurors and were very influential when it comes to setting up a solid Ministry of Magical Defense for the Aurors. This little known fact was also a well-guarded secret, known only to the immediate family and friends.

Both Harry and Ginny retreated to the living room as Hermione mounted éclairs on the plate as after snacks. It had been awhile since the four of them had been in the same room at the same time, not doing much of anything and just talk. If they were lucky, Neville and Luna might just join them after all.

"Thanks for the dinner, again." Ron said as he helped to clear the dishes away.

"You're welcome." She smiled. "Can I ask you something?"

Ron shrugged. "Yeah."

"How come you never fixed the pipes at my house with one of your brilliant ring…thing?"

"Well…it depends on the condition of the pipes and the building itself. In your case, those pipes are too old to be fixed with just a simple spell." Ron replied.

"Really?"

"Yeah…why?"

Hermione smirked. "Nothing…just wondering."

"Right, so…I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I think I'm going to give myself an early night as well, will that be alright for you?"

Hermione shook her head. "Yeah, of course, it's alright. Are you…are you okay? You've been looking a bit pale all night."

"I'm fine, I'm just…tired." Ron replied nonchalantly. "Look, I know it's late and I'd do it myself if I'm not so knackered all of a sudden…but unless Harry sends you home, I want you to stay here for the night alright? You can have Ginny's room, it's not like she stays here anymore anyway. We can floo you home first thing in the morning so you can clean up and go to work but just don't go home on your own tonight, can you do that?"

Ron's frown was etched with worries and despite the fact that his sudden tiredness and even paler complexion was alarming her, Hermione couldn't help thinking how adorable and considerate he was.

_This is why I waited two years for him. And I'm still waiting. _

"Ron, calm down." Hermione smiled. "I won't go back home on my own, I promise."

"Good, that's good."

"Now why don't you go ahead and rest, I'll tell the Aurors you said goodnight."

"Yeah…well, goodnight then." Ron said awkwardly. Hermione wasn't sure if it'd be appropriate to kiss him goodnight. What was she to him again? Friend? Girlfriend? What?

"Goodnight Ron." She smiled.

He nodded once again and even waved at her before climbing up the stairs to his room. She let out a small laugh, suddenly reminded of the goofy, unsure Ronald Weasley she once knew.

When Hermione entered the living room with the plate of snacks in her hand, Harry and Ginny were laughing at some talk show host on television.

"Where's Ron?" Harry asked.

"He's gone to bed, said he's too tired."

"You know you don't have to worry too much over him." Ginny said. "It's normal for him to have an early night. Sometimes, when it gets too much, he takes long naps in the afternoon as well. It was very weird at first; you know how Ron is don't you? He's always moving around and doing something and always very loud."

"He's kind of not, anymore." Harry added. "Not that it's his fault."

Hermione sighed. "I wish he'd let me help him."

"Don't we all?" Ginny said. "He takes good care of dad though, something that I should be doing."

"Because you're a girl?" Hermione asked.

"When it all comes down to…yeah."

Hermione smiled. "I have you know, Ron wouldn't have any of that."

"How would you know that?" Ginny asked suspiciously.

"Because I know him." Hermione smiled. "Am I right, Harry?"

Harry was smiling and shaking his head at the same time, a knowing look in his eyes. "Yes…yeah, you're right. Crazy as it sounds, yeah, Ron would rather prefer you be out there with me even though it worries him to no end to know you're risking your life every second."

"Sometimes I feel like you both know my brother more than I do."

"It's not that Ginny. This is just something a big brother usually keeps from his little sister." Harry explained.

"Hey, did he tell you guys about this cure Neville and Luna had been working on?" Hermione asked, changing the subject. It still made her giddy just thinking about what this could mean for Ron. More flexibility and lesser of a hassle, definitely something Ron Weasley would like to get back in his life.

And perhaps, he'd let her in too.

"Cure?" Harry asked.

"Is it for his wound?" Ginny asked, equally hopeful.

Hermione nodded, failing miserably to hide her grin. "It's been approved for testing and they thought Ron would be the best candidate to try it out. He had his first session yesterday in fact."

Harry grinned. "Well, this look like it's something more than just fixing a pipe and cooking dinner to me."

"Is that all you guys ever think about? Honestly." After giving Harry a playful smack on the arm, Ginny turned to Hermione once again. "Does this mean he'll be cured entirely?"

"No, not really. It uses a more advanced spell to control the bleeding and if things work out for him, it'll even stop eventually."

Ginny had tears in her eyes and Harry was grinning as wide as Hermione. "Oh it has to work! He deserves that much!"

"It won't heal the wound though but the good news is, he doesn't have to use the salve anymore, which, after what I saw yesterday, is something he'd do good without."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, the salve was a tough one…so, he's okay with everything then? I just thought he looked too pale tonight but if-"

"Well, he'd been looking pale since earlier today…I'm not sure what the arrangements are between him and Neville. I had to leave early for work…of course, I should check with Neville about this, we need to know about the process and the side effects if there are any."

"I wonder what kept them tonight." Ginny said. "We could drop by St. Mungo's and pass them your dishes if you want Hermione."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I bet ten galleons those two are stuck with some kind of emergency back there. You should come too Hermione, we can floo back to your apartment from there. It's not safe to travel on your own this late, even by floo."

"Of course, I'd like that."

There was a little pause as they helped themselves to some éclairs and Hermione wished she could ask them about their job but most of the tasks were kept secret and she didn't want to put them in difficult position about it. She could offer them some insight on her job but she didn't feel like talking about anything job related.

"So, I have a question." Hermione blurted out. It had been sitting at the back of her mind, nagging its way to the front for quite sometime that night.

"As long as it's not work related, shoot away." Harry said.

"Why shouldn't the twins apparate in the Burrow? Does this rule apply to everyone?" Hermione asked as she took another bite of her éclair. "Because we apparated here this morning from Hogsmeade."

"Wait, you were both at Hogsmeade this morning? Together?" Harry asked.

"Oh honestly!" Ginny rolled her eyes. "Ignore Harry for a minute why don't you? He's been rather weird lately, I mean, he cried when we watched that muggle movie Titanic just two days ago."

"Oh really?" Hermione laughed.

"Most women love a sensitive romantic guy." Harry said, rather seriously.

"I'm not most women, that's why you married me." Ginny reminded him. "Anyway Hermione, remember in your fifth year when we were in Grimmauld's Place and they apparated on his laps?"

Hermione laughed at the memory and then when it dawned upon her, every trace of smile was gone from her face. "Oh Godric no way!"

Ginny shook her head. "It was worst than that. This happened the first week after everyone left the Burrow. It was only Ron and Dad in the house and he was still coping with doing everything on his own then and it took a toll on him and he sort of…"

"He was dehydrated and collapsed on the kitchen floor and couldn't call for help. When the twins apparated, George stepped on him." Harry finished.

Hermione gasped. "How come I didn't know any of these?"

"Well…Ron asked us not to tell you. It took a lot to convince you to start living on your own Hermione, he didn't want you to come running back when you heard about the little accident."

Hermione slumped back on her chair. There was so much she had missed ever since she moved out. This was exactly why she was reluctant to go in the first place. She refused to listen to Ron and was quite stubborn about staying around and helping him out. It really didn't matter to her if Ron was having second thoughts about their relationship for whatever reason; she loved him and wanted to be there for him and the family that had always treated her like their own.

But Hermione is so much more than that, and Ron knew this other side of her. He convinced her to step forward and do her part in salvaging what was left of the Wizarding world.

"_You know you want to." _

"_I do. But I can start with you. Let me help you." _

"_I have a roof over my head and I'm not starving to death, I think I'm much better off than those poor kids we read about in the Quibblers. They need your help more than I do. You're not going to turn away from them, are you? That's not the Hermione I know." _

"I know why Ron do the things he do, that's just Ron. But it still hurts sometime, to be pushed away."

Ginny reached out to hold her hand and Harry gave her an apologetic smile. "Do you want me to get Viktor? Maybe that would wake him up."

Hermione laughed. "Oh that'd be a sight."

An owl flying into the living room out of nowhere caught them off guard. It landed on Harry.

"Must be from the Ministry." Ginny sighed. "Damn it, we're not supposed to work tonight."

"Riot in Azkaban…got to go…" Harry rushed, already reaching for the cloaks.

"What! Okay, go on then, don't let me stop you!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Hermione, don't go home alone tonight alright? Just-"

"Harry don't worry, I won't. You both go now and-"

There was a pop sound and both Harry and Ginny were gone in a blink of an eye. "…Take care."

Hermione sighed, unsure of what to do next. It was still too early to call it a night and since she would be in the Burrow, there was nothing to keep her mind busy since all her work related stuff was back home. There were the éclairs and the television; she figured that would do.

"Maybe I should check on Ron and Mr. Weasley first." Hermione thought out loud. "Great, now I'm talking to myself."

Making her way up the stairs, she grinned when it started to creek on the 6th step. Back then, when she was young (she knew she was still very young at 19 but wars forced kids to grow up in a blink of an eye) and naïve, she'd contribute this little founding as a sign.

_Isn't Ron the sixth child? _

_Ron's heart creeks for you, Hermione. _

Hermione felt herself blushing. How corny was she back then?

She reached Mr. Weasley's room first and the overpowering smell of Lavender was undeniable. If she closed her eyes, she swear she could feel Mrs. Weasley bustling around in that room, always doing something to keep herself entertained.

Mr. Weasley was sound asleep and it brought a smile to her face. There used to be a time when he couldn't even bring himself to step into this very room. This made her think of her own parents back home. It really didn't matter that she spent at least once a week with them; she missed them all the time. You never really know how much you love someone until they were taken away from you. Or for her case, almost taken away from her.

Sensing that everything was in order, she left and made her way to Ron's room, which was conveniently unlocked.

"Ron?"

There was no answer, although Hermione thought she heard his soft snores. She walked into the room almost on tiptoes and went straight for the window to make sure it was locked. The room felt cold to her and she shivered slightly. From what little light left in the room, she could see the side table lined with vials of medications. There was also a new roll of bandage and the familiar powering smell of that infamous salve, still in its powdered form, kept in a bottle.

It was hard to believe that Ron had been living with these for two years. Hermione remembered how back in school and even while they were away hunting for horcruxes, she'd listen to the conversations between Harry and him, talking about the future. He had always wanted to be an Auror, or keeper for the Chudley Cannons. Hermione always told him he could be whatever he wanted to be. That's you Hermione, not us, he'd joke.

Look at him now, her heart whispered.

"It's so unfair."

He looked so peaceful in his sleep, albeit the still pale and parched looking lips.

Pulling the rather worn out blanket up to his chest, she took another look at his face before whispering a soft goodnight and left.

Making her way to Ginny's room, she stifled a yawn. She didn't realize how tired she was; all those work in the kitchen the entire day had suddenly taken a toll on her but she found herself looking forward to another fun time such as that night. Perhaps being a housewife wasn't that bad after all? Look at Mrs. Weasley, she was a housewife and Hermione regarded her as one of her heroes. Such a strong woman and witch she was.

She sank appreciatively on the bed and allowed her muscles to relax. As she wondered the reasons behind Neville and Luna's no show at dinner and worrying about the safety of both Harry and Ginny out there, Hermione fell into a dreamless sleep.

_Ps: It is unlikely that I'll be updating during the weekend since I don't have the privacy to write at home (I write and update at work, hehe) so I hope you don't mind me missing for the next two days. I didn't leave you with a mean cliffy, did I? Lol…I feel like the story is moving too slow, like nothing much is happening in the present time. I hope you're not mad about that. If all goes well, the next chapter will pick up the pace a little. (prays she didn't jinx herself) _

_Thank you so very much for the reviews everyone! They really push me to write faster. I feel the love! _

_qb1: I hope your Hermione stays strong for your Ron. Hopefully time will make them see why we do the things we do to the ones we love most eh? Keep smiling! _

_Greenpluff: Hehe…you'll get to see that action you mentioned in your review in this fic. I plan to fit it somewhere in one of the coming chapters, lol. Awww that's so kind of you to rec it at checkmated! Of course I don't mind! Thank you so much! (as she blushes) This story is still pending over at Checkmated, no idea what's going on but I'll be a good person and wait in line, if it gets picked up, I'll be doing my happy dance. Will you join me? Lol_


	6. Ron Weasley

A/n: I had some problems accessing earlier so I apologise for the delay. Thank you EVERYONE once again for all the reviews! I really, really appreciate them all! (does the jiggy dance)

Gag Hafrunt: Thank you for pointing it out! I've always just assumed it's a He, lol. Aww I find it sweet that Harry's owl is a she though!

qb1: Ohhh yes, writing at work is so much fun, especially when the boss calls you at the exact moment you're writing the most important parts! (grumbles) and hehe, this chappie is loaded with Ron goodness, sorta my apologies for sending him to bed early in the previous chapter, lol.

_-----_

_The party was beginning to die down by then, most of the guests had left, but music was still playing in the background. For the life of her, Ginny could never remember who the singer was, but she knew enough to know that it was one of her mother's favorites. Fred and George were dancing together, making fun of themselves and Bill had Fleur tight in his grasp while Charlie sat with her dad, having a one sided conversation that didn't seem to mind her brother a bit. Everyone was relaxed and jovial for a change and if she had known that it would only take her wedding to make them laugh again, she wouldn't mind getting married to Harry Potter everyday. _

_Harry Potter, her husband. Who knew? _

"_There was a time when I find your lovesick gaze nauseating." Ginny raised her head lazily to look into the face of her dance partner. "But tonight it sooths me. I'm happy for you little sister. Oh wait, it's Mrs. Potter now isn't it?" _

_She smiled. Yes, she likes the sound of that. _

"_My beautiful little sister, who knew eh?" _

_And he smiled, with that twinkle in his eyes and it was all it took for her to fling her arms around him and hugged him as if she never would ever want to let go. She felt safe here, in his arms, in this place, his soothing voice always lulling her to sleep, just like when they were kids and she couldn't sleep and he'd talk and talk about nothing and everything and it bored her to death and eventually knocked her out. Sure she has six older brothers in the family, but it had always been him she looked for comfort when she was young. _

_Things changed for a little when they were both in Hogwarts. They bickered like no other and she always gave him a reason to put on that overprotective older brother streak to test. Oh how he used to annoy and suffocate her…but of all her brothers, she always loved him the most. _

"_Ginny…"_

"_I love you." She cried into his chest. "Don't you ever leave me." _

_When she didn't get any response to that, she unwillingly look up again, searching for his eyes and realized he was blinking back his tears. The light twitch from the corner of his mouth gave him away though. She wished he'd just give in and cry. _

"_Ron…" _

"_I love you too…and I'm not going anywhere." He choked. _

"_Promise?" _

_He nodded. "You shouldn't cry, it took Hermione forever to put that make up on your face. And that's saying a lot for Hermione." _

_He was brushing a tear on her cheek with his thumb and it reminded her of the day he left for Hogwarts. The train had just left platform 9 ¾ and immediately, she felt the lost. There would be no one left at home to play with her. She remembered hugging her mom and sobbing until she hiccupped and her mom had brushed her tears away just the way Ron was doing it now. _

"_I don't think Harry and I should move out so soon, this house is big enough for the four of us." She blurted out, almost pleading. _

_Ron was shaking his head, something she'd expected from him. "As much as our parents love us together in this house Ginny, they really want us to learn to live on our own and have our own experiences in life. Why do you think they let Bill and Charlie work so far away from home? Look at Fred and George. It's your time now." _

"_What about you then Ron?" _

_Ron shrugged. "Someone's got to stay behind and take care of stuff here. If mom were still-" Ron paused; there was that sadness again, it was gone in a blink of an eye but she saw it. "When you leave, don't be a stranger to this house yeah? Me and dad accept any home cook or take out food from any Weasleys, and Potters, with open arms." _

"_What about Grangers?" _

_He smiled. His eyes strayed over her head and then fixed on a spot. Ginny didn't have to look back to know that it was Hermione his eyes were fixed on. She was dancing with Harry. _

"_Ron?" _

_He looked down at her again and offered her a smile before pulling her in for a tight hug again. They stayed that way for a very long time. Part of her was excited over the prospects of living with Harry, having their own private house. She was also accepted into Auror training and if things picked up, she might just get to partner with Harry one day. But another part of her worries for her brother and dad, on their own in this house without mom. She had always been the one who took care of business around here. _

_Was Ron strong enough to restrain dad on his own when he had one of those fits at night? Would he be strong enough to do the laundry, cook a decent meal, clean the house, take care of dad's every need all on his own? _

_Who would be there for Ron then? Godric, he's only eighteen!_

"_Maybe we can ask Bill to stay here for awhile?" _

_Ron sighed. "Ginny, they live not far from the Burrow. Besides, I don't think you'd like the idea of Fleur messing up mom's kitchen much, do you?" _

"_No, I don't." She smiled. "Maybe Charlie then? He doesn't have a family of his own to go to." _

"_Don't let him hear you say that. Those dragons are his babies!" Ron joked. "We shouldn't hold him back Gin. We can't be selfish, there's a lot of work to do after the war." _

"_This is why I love you the most." Ginny smiled. _

_Ron raised his left eyebrow and smirked. He then proceeded to kiss her forehead and hugged her again. War really changed a person, Ginny thought. Ron was never one who'd hug his little sister in the open for everyone to see. "I'm so happy for you." _

Hermione woke up in the middle of the night yearning for a glass of water. Her heartbeat was racing a notch faster than normal and there was a sickening feeling tugging at her navel, almost giving her cramps. Her throat felt dry and she was perspiring, the room too dark for her liking and her head felt a tad bit dizzy.

She wasn't sick, she knew this. This was something else. She had felt this way before, in fact every waking hour during the second war, she walked with this same sensation always following her like blind faith.

Did something happen to Harry or Ginny?

She shook head; that couldn't be it. She'd get an owl by then if that were the case. She wondered if she had a nightmare…

Blinking the remains of her sleep away, Hermione got out of bed and reached out for her wand on the side table. She muttered _lumos _under her breath and walked out of the room as quietly as possible. Perhaps getting a glass of drink wouldn't be so bad after all.

There was complete silence throughout the Burrow and she knew she should be glad that Mr. Weasley hadn't had a single episode so far (she'd know if he had, his thrashing could wake up the entire occupant of the Burrow), yet that nauseating feeling still tugged at her heart.

She muttered a lighting spell over the kitchen before settling down with a glass of water. She took a big gulp at once, as if the worry that was encompassing her entire being would be washed away by it.

She sighed inwardly, wishing there was a way to find out if Harry and Ginny were okay. She was quite certain now that something had happened to them.

And then it hit her.

"Of course!" Not waiting another second, she barged out of the kitchen and into the living room. "Mrs. Weasley's clock! Oh, why didn't I think of that sooner?"

The old clock stood proud in the living room, like a family heirloom. Hermione ran her eyes over the names at once.

Arthur – Home

Bill, Fleur, Rene – Home

Charlie – Away

Fred – Traveling

George – Traveling

Ron – Mortal Peril

Ginny – At Work

Harry – At Work

Hermione – Home

Hermione literally let out a huge sigh of relief, seeing that both Harry and Ginny weren't in any kind of danger. Of course that only lasted a mere second before her brain finally digested the information fully.

_Mortal Peril?_

"That can't be." Hermione frowned. "He's here with me!"

_Well technically he's in his room, alone. And he was looking rather pale earlier. And you still feel ill, you know something's wrong. _

"Oh Merlin, please let him be alright!"

She ran up the stairs two steps at a time. It sting her heart when it creeks on the sixth step but she didn't slow down.

Logic would have told Hermione that she could have apparated straight to Ron's room but Hermione was never known as someone who could reason with logic when she started to panic. It was just like back in first year when she needed Ron to remind her she was a witch!

She didn't even pause at the door, didn't care if she was making too much noise; she wouldn't be satisfied until she could see his face.

His eyes were closed but his face was set to a frown. He looked as white as a ghost, his lips almost blue, his shirt drenched in cold sweat and his damped hair matted on his forehead. He was almost wheezing in his sleep and he seemed to be trembling.

"Ron!" Hermione reached for him, shaking his shoulders gently. The heat radiating from his body alarmed her at once. "Oh Merlin, Ron, what's wrong with you?"

-

_Ron loves to plan. He hates to plunge his head into something new without any clue what he was going to do when he got there. That would be Harry. The young man who was ruled by his emotions first. It wasn't a bad thing really, to allow your emotions rule your decisions, it means that a person is sensitive when it comes to feelings. _

_Not many people know that Ron loves planning. You would never see him walking around with an organizer in his hands. And his behavior of leaving everything homework related to the very last minute didn't really scream 'good planner'. Well-organized was Hermione's forte anyway. She set out a goal and made sure she followed it through. _

_Ron mapped out his plans in his head. He saw a goal and had at least ten ways planned to get about doing it. He made sure there were no loopholes in any of the links and saw them played out before he even begins. On the outside though, you'd never guess that Ron had a plan brewing. He didn't feel the need to tell everyone what he was thinking about unless he deemed it fit to do so. _

_He always laughed when people called him a good strategist yet claimed he was never good at planning. Ron always thought that planning and strategizing come together. _

_Therefore, suffice it was to say, that Ron was a balance for both Harry and Hermione. The same way that Harry was a balance for both him and Hermione. And that Hermione was a balance for both him and Harry. That was why the three of them work so well together. _

_And so on a Sunday afternoon, while everyone were busy volunteering to do something, he stayed in his room, like the invalid that people seemed to think of him these days, and planned ways to push Hermione out of his life. And because he loved her more than life itself, he had to make sure that it worked. _

_He started his plan the next day, early morning when he knew he'd find her already up and busy in the kitchen. She had self-designated herself as the official cook in the house and that was saying a lot because Hermione might be a lot of things, but cooking wasn't one of them. _

_When he found her that morning, she had burnt a toast and since food was scarce in the first place, she tried to scrape off the burnt bits and salvage the rest. _

_He would offer to help – like cutting the potatoes – and then talked about news they had read on the Quibblers. Ron would only talk about specific subjects though and they all concerned the welfare of homeless children or the aged and wizards and witches who were badly injured in the war. He asked her opinion on what she thought could be done for them. _

_Ron had never seen Hermione more alive than when she started talking about them. Her eyes would water in sympathy, and then fired up with all the ideas she had came up to assist them. He found them all fascinating and with every desire oozing out from her, Ron was even more convinced that he was doing the right thing. _

_He supported her ideas and told her she should do something about it. That the Ministry could do with someone like her helping out the less fortunate. _

_Because the Ministry is so bent on fighting left over death eaters, they'd forget about these people unless someone speaks up for them. You could be that someone Hermione, in fact I believe you're the perfect person for the job, he had said. _

"_I can't just barge in there and tell them of my plans, can I?" _

"_No, you need a plan." _

"_Will you help me?" _

"_Of course! I think you should write a proposal and have Harry signed it. You know the Ministry pretty much kiss his arse these days." _

"_Ron!"_

"_It's true!" _

"_I won't use Harry just to-"_

"_Do you want to help these kids or not?"_

"_I do, but-"_

"_Harry will sign it in a heartbeat, trust me. You're not using him at all." _

_Over the next few days, it was all that Hermione could think of. Ron even turned Percy's room into a study room for her to do her researches. He woke up early in the morning, taking over duties of preparing breakfast and he wouldn't see her until late in the afternoon, when she came down for dinner. She would let him read what she had drafted and offered his opinion on them. _

_When she was ready, it was Fred and George who accompanied her to the Ministry. Ron couldn't have gone with her if he wanted to, not in his condition. He spent the day taking care of his dad, who has yet to regain all his memories. _

_When Mr. Weasley was fast asleep (which was often), Ron would sit on the rocking chair next to his parents' bed and pretended that his mom was out there, busy as always, making sure that the Burrow was taken care of. He was confident that the Ministry would take up the offer Hermione proposed and with it came the next step in his plan. _

_When the owl came to officially accept her offer and requested that she start working on the new department and recruiting volunteers to work with her, Ron suggested that she buy a house in Hogsmeade. _

"_What's wrong with living here?" _

"_Well, Bill and Fleur are going back to France for awhile and then they'll come back and buy a house. Charlie's leaving in two days. The twins' old apartment miraculously survived the battle. Harry is covered by the Ministry so he's getting an apartment, I heard all aurors are getting one, sort of a safe house to protect them. That leaves you and me and my dad. And it's not nice since we're not…you know…" _

"_I understand." _

"_Besides, didn't you say in that proposal that the best site to start this whole rebuilding project would be in Hogsmeade? If you stay there, you'd be closer to the people, you get to understand them more and all that stuff. And it's easier to get to the Ministry from there. And it's more accessible to Diagon Alley, you can visit your parents more frequently." _

_She ate his every word and agreed to move. _

_The day Hermione moved out, Ron was confined to his bed with high fever. He also requested that no one was to disturb him. He hated being treated like a child who couldn't do anything on his own. His back was killing him and the wound seem to bleed twice as much lately and he knew if he told even a soul, everyone would be on his case. And even though he was in so much pain, nothing hurt him more than knowing that Hermione had left. He assumed it was easier to let her go without saying goodbye. He knew then he assumed wrong._

_She wrote him a letter everyday, asking about his well being and telling him about her first day at work. She told him about her plans in reuniting lost children to their estranged parents and setting up a home for the orphans and promoting and encouraging adoption among Wizarding families. _

_For every three letters she sent him, he would reply once. And he didn't write much about what was going on in his life. Gradually, he would reply once every five letters she sent him. Even in her busiest days, Hermione never failed to write to him but Ron was determined to see through his plan. So one day, he stopped replying altogether. _

_His plan was working; Hermione was soon too busy to write and he never picked up a quill to write and ask about her. He would decline offers when his friends invited him for a night out on the weekend because he knew Hermione would be there. _

_And because he didn't need any reminders of how everyone he knew were moving on with their lives with jobs and a place of their own with plans of starting a family with that girl they met in some convention when he still wakes up every morning drenched in his own sweat over a nightmare he couldn't even remember and having to go another day with the whispers of his mother's laughter in every nook and corner of the Burrow haunting him._

_Would they want to hear about his struggles trying to calm his dad down when he had one of his fits and of late afternoons when he would sit down with him and fed him and told him stories of their family in hope that he'd wake from his catatonic self and said 'I remember that son!' and smiled? _

_Or perhaps he should tell them of his struggle having to adjust living with this bleeding curse? Would they still want to hang out with him if he told them he couldn't enjoy the taste of firewhisky or spicy food because it gives him cramps and sleepless nights? _

_Then one day, almost a year after Hermione moved out of the Burrow and when his dad finally started talking and recognizing people, Ron decided to take his dad for walks along Hogsmeade. Ron hated to mingle with crowds because on a busy street, you get shoved and pushed and for someone in his condition, it could mean days stuck in his bed being sick. But he did it anyway, because it would be healthy for his dad. _

_They were having ice cream because dad said he missed the taste of it, when he saw Hermione coming out of a store with a man. Ron wasn't familiar with him but enough to know that he was slightly older than he was, probably about Percy's age if he was still alive. _

_The man opened the door for her and offered a candy to the young boy who was standing next to whom Ron assumed was the young boy's father by the door and ruffled his hair. They bade them goodbye and he even let Hermione led the way and offered to carry the extra files she was carrying. It was clear to see that whomever that man Hermione was with, was a gentleman in every sense of the word. _

_Plus, he's good looking. _

_To say that it didn't hurt him was a plain out right lie. It hurt so deep he thought he was going to pass out right there at the ice cream parlor. But he chose to smile, because his plan was working, very well. This man could very well be the answer. _

_Of course, Hermione had to turn up at the Burrow the very next day. _

_She said she came to see how Mr. Weasley was doing. His dad was very happy to see her. Ron left them alone in the living room shortly after, without even telling her how good it was to see her again. He went out to the backyard, tending to the garden. Perhaps it was what he said or the tone of his voice, whatever it was, it must have upset her, because she didn't come out to talk to him. _

_It was his latest project – the garden. He figured he should start to try and grow something; it would definitely help to lessen their financial burden. _

_Ron started loosening the soil, toiling under the hot sun the entire day. He dug weeds and wild plants that were beginning to grow and started adding magical fertilizers in the soil, blending them well. In his head, Ron was reassessing his plans, working out ways to patch this one broken link. _

_Hermione shouldn't be there. _

_He didn't think he could start from scratch should this plan fell apart. He didn't think he could handle the heartbreak the second time around. But oh how beautiful she had looked when she appeared at the front door earlier that day. Ron would have pulled her in for a hug if he hadn't remembered his mission. _

_She couldn't be here, not with him. Not after he had convinced Bill and Fleur that they should start a life of their own and move out of the Burrow. Not after he had convinced Charlie that he should continue doing what he does best and not worry about him and their dad. Not after he had convinced the Twins that living with them while working undercover for the Ministry would jeopardize the safety of their dad. Not after he had supported his baby sister's decision to be an Auror and then worried for her safety all the time. _

_He felt dizzy all of a sudden. He was tired; from the physical torture he was exerting himself to and the mental torture going on in his head. He was about ready to give up. _

"_Oh great." _

_He was bleeding. He had forgotten to renew the spells and bandage that was supposed to be done three hours ago. _

_Making sure the stained shirt was hidden from view, he rushed through the kitchen where unfortunately both his dad and Hermione were having their tea, passed them and ran up the stairs to his room. How he even managed to get in there in time would stay a mystery to him. _

_He locked the door and cast the muffliato spell in the room and set about to change this dressing. _

_It didn't surprise him when she knocked on his door. _

"_Ron?" _

_He couldn't bear to stand any longer, not when his back felt like it was on fire. With trembling hands, he muttered a cleaning charm over himself before collapsing on his bed and quickly cut out the bandage. _

"_Ron can I come in?" _

_He groaned loudly as he undid the binding spell and started to bleed. Hermione couldn't hear him, he kept telling himself. It was okay. _

"_Ron, I know you're bleeding, there were stains on the steps…" _

_Ron drowned her voice out by his own screams, willing for the salves to quickly heat up in his hand. He didn't think he could knead it any second longer. _

"_Please, let me help you?" _

_The salve was hot enough now and without giving himself a chance to dwell into what he was going to do next, he slapped the offending object to the wound. It sizzled immediately upon contact. _

_He knew she couldn't hear him, but Ron still gritted his teeth and forced himself not to cry. _

"_Ron, why are you doing this to me? Don't you miss me? It's been almost a year since I heard from you. What changed? I…Ron…don't you love me anymore?" _

_She was crying, right outside his door and every being in him wanted him to open that door and tell her how much he missed her. How much he loved her. _

_But he remembered. He loved her, and because of that, he had to do this. _

"_Please open the door Ron, let me in, let me help you." _

_As the pain subsided, Ron used what was left of his energy to bandage the wound. He lay in bed in a fetal position, listening to Hermione's never ending pleas right outside his room. _

_He didn't let her help him that day, but for the first time since he had cradled his dead mother in his arms, Ron allowed himself to break down and cried along with Hermione. The door the only thing that separated both of them. _

"Ron, please, wake up!"

Ron didn't even flinch. The only sound emitting in the room other than Hermione's pleas were the wheezing of his breath.

"Ron, don't do this to me! I know you can hear me, please, open your eyes!"

His eyes remained closed, didn't as much as flutter for her. And as if to add insult to injury, she noticed his nose was beginning to bleed.

Hermione was lost. She couldn't apparate and left him there alone yet he needed help.

"Think Hermione, think! What do you do to wake some-" She didn't even finish her sentence when the idea struck her. "Of course!" Reaching out for her wand, she waved it over Ron's body and muttered _Ennervate_.

She waited in anticipation, her brain already thinking of other alternatives she could try out should this one failed.

Ron's eyes didn't flutter but went immediately wide opened as he gasped for air painfully, his hand reached out for hers. Hermione grabbed for it and her vision blurred from her own tears. She knew she needed to make him stay awake as long as possible while she think of the next step to get him to St. Mungo's.

"Ron…Oh Godric…you're very sick, I need to bring you to St. Mungo's! Please stay awake for me okay? You can't go back to sleep Ron, do you hear me?" She said through her tears.

She thought she saw Ron nodded slightly before his lips parted. She moved closer still, trying to make out what he was saying. She felt her tear dropped on his cheek as she lowered herself and his hot breath hitting hers. It unnerved her for a second, realising how high his temperature must have been.

And then she heard his voice, barely a whisper in her ears. "Help me."

It was all that Hermione needed to hear. She'd bring Ron to St. Mungo's if that were the last thing she'd ever do.


	7. What Is It About Fate?

_A/n: Hello everyone! I'd like to apologise for not updating yesterday (blinks innocently at qb1), work got in the way :(_

_But I am very happy and grateful for all the reviews. You guys have been so kind to me and make it enjoyable for me to write this fic. So thank you once again! This chapter is shorter compared to the previous one and I had a really difficult time writing the flashback for this one, do tell me what you think of it, I'm open to constructive criticisms. _

The first thing Hermione did after making sure that Ron remained alert was to check for his wound; she didn't need for it to start bleeding right now. She looked at him apologetically once more before pulling down the blanket to his waist.

"Great, no bleeding whatsoever, good wound!" She felt the need to praise the wound for its good behavior for some reason. Ron always said she was at her funniest when she panicked.

Hermione grimaced. "I'm panicking aren't I? I shouldn't be, should I?"

Ron actually mustered a hint of smile and it made her feel relieved a little. If Ron could hear her blabbering, he should be alert enough, shouldn't he?

"Can you get up Ron? I'm not much into medication but I know enough to never let a person lye down if you want them to stay awake, it's only logical-"

Ron raised his hand to stop her and she grimaced once again at her own panic state.

"Essence…drawer…"

"Right…okay…" Hermione pulled open the side table and was surprised to find more vials of different colored potions in them. She didn't even recognize half of them as she read the labels.

"Okay…something essence…what could it be?" Hermione wondered if this was how Harry felt when Ron was poisoned in sixth year. How in the world had he stayed so calm and just went through Professor Slughorn's bag and found that one little thing that had saved Ron's life?

"Of course!" Hermione blurted out, as it all came back to her. "Essence of rue! That's what Madam Pomfrey gave you after the poison isn't it? It's supposed to give you back your strength!"

She heard Ron gasped in reply and Hermione continued going through each vial until she found what she was looking for.

"Here Ron, drink this."

Hermione could see the change immediately. Ron had stopped gasping for air and there was a little color back on his face. He still looked weak but was strong enough to push himself up without much help from her.

"Thanks." Ron croaked.

"You scared me there for a bit." Hermione smiled.

Ron nodded. "Had happened before…but this was the worst. I'm glad you stayed for the night."

"Me too." She whispered. "Ron, we need to get you to St. Mungo's and have Neville check on you. I'm worried it's the new medication that is making you ill."

"I don't think I'm up for a floo or apparating though." Ron grimaced.

"Is it hurting?" Hermione asked, referring to the wound.

Ron nodded. "Throbbing like hell."

"This essence you took, it'll only buy you a little time…promise me you'll stay awake and upright like this while I floo for Neville?"

Ron nodded.

Hermione smiled and for the first time, she couldn't stop her urges and grabbed for his head and kissed his cheek lightly. "It'll only take a minute, I promise."

This time, Hermione remembered she was a witch, and apparated straight to the living room of the Burrow. Her plan was to get to the fireplace and floo herself down to St. Mungo's as fast as she could.

But what is it about fate that always has to interfere with plans? There in the living room of the Burrow, stood two strangers, who seemed delighted by her presence. They looked filthy and their eyes glimmered dangerously to that of a mad man. And by the way they were dressed, Hermione knew they had somehow escaped Azkaban.

-

_The service for Mrs. Weasley and Percy was beautiful yet sad. It was held in private, attended only by members of the Order who had survived the war and immediate families from both the Weasleys and the Prewetts as well as Hermione's parents. _

_The one person painfully missing was Mr. Weasley himself, who was still unconscious and away in St. Mungo's. _

_Like what Ginny had told him earlier, it was unfortunate that the one person who had loved her mother unconditionally wasn't there to say goodbye. _

_Harry couldn't remember much of the service to be honest; most of the time he found himself drowned in his own troubled thoughts. He knew Bill had come forward and addressed the crowd, talking about some fond memories he had of his mother. _

_Harry had stood by Ginny the entire time, lending each other a shoulder to cry on. Even though Harry wasn't a Weasley, they were the only family who had ever regarded him as one of their own. Mrs. Weasley had been the only woman who had embraced him like her own son. _

_Hermione was seated with her parents the entire time and Ron had sat next to him and not uttered a single word. _

_When it was time to say their last goodbye, Harry was there with Ginny, who almost collapsed in his arms from grief when she reached her mother's coffin. Even Charlie's choked sobs could be heard from a mile away. _

_Ron was another story altogether. _

_Harry watched silently as Ron bent down to kiss her one last time and muttered a 'goodbye'; there was a sense of peace on his face as he walked back to them. _

_And then there was the mingling around the Burrow with everyone after the service ended. Harry busied himself in the kitchen, helping both Hermione and Ginny out with the food. Ron was absent the entire time and as much as he'd like to leave everything and went ahead to find his friend, he couldn't abandon the ones who were there with him and needed his support._

_After the crowd seemed to die down a little, Harry made his little escape. _

_He knew he'd find Ron in his room. It was the only hiding place his family would leave him alone. The moment the door was locked behind him, Ron's head snapped up. Those hauntingly lost eyes now soft and sad, looking back at him. _

"_Don't worry, I'm not here to ask you to come down." _

_Ron nodded. Harry felt his eyes following his every move as he made his way to the makeshift bed at the other end of the room and settled himself there, facing Ron. _

_The next few minutes were spent in silence. Words meant nothing to either of them right now. It reminded Harry of the time when he had went back to the boys' dorm the night Dumbledore was killed. Ron was sitting on his bed, waiting for him and they had spent a few minutes conversing in silence. _

_It was in these silence that Harry found the comfort he couldn't quite get should they had talked. Corny as it would sound, he felt as if they could read each others' minds without the need for occlumency. That was how great their friendship was. _

"_I don't think I've asked how you've been doing Harry, ever since your face off with Voldemort." Ron said, breaking the silence finally. _

_Harry was surprised by this sudden remark but he shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "Toast the guy, didn't I? Good riddance." _

"_Really? No guilt whatsoever?" _

"_Should I?" Harry asked. "He had killed too many innocent lives Ron, I'm not sorry that I off him." _

_Ron nodded. "Yeah, I'm not sorry either. Besides, it was either him or you. I'm glad it was him." _

"_We didn't go through all those trouble destroying horcruxes just to have him live, now did we?" Harry smiled. _

"_No, I figured not." _

"_What about you?"_

"_Me?"_

"_Yeah, how are you holding up? I'd have asked sooner but I figured you needed your space." _

"_Everyone lost someone in this war I guess. Hey, at least we're not homeless and hungry."_

_Harry thought as much. Ron was always good at answering questions without really answering them. It was a subtle way of avoiding a subject he wasn't comfortable with, most of the time, when the subject focus on himself. _

"_I'm sorry Ron…about your wound." _

_Ron frowned. "Not your fault. Besides, I got this from protecting Hermione, not sorry for that." _

"_I'm sorry you feel the need to avoid her now though." _

_They went back to their silent ways when Ron said nothing in return. Harry seized his bestfriend up, wondering how he could break into his thick head. _

"_That was a nice service they gave Mrs. Weasley and Percy." _

_Ron smiled. "Yeah, it was. And you cried like a baby." _

"_Shut up." _

"_Sissy." _

"_You should have cried right along with me. Some friend you are."_

"_You were busy crying on my sister's shoulder you prick. Besides, I'm all cried out I guess." _

"_No, I think you're just holding everything in." _

"_What are you, a psychic now?" _

"_Just talking from experience I guess. Trust me Ron, it's not a good thing to do." _

"_I'm not holding everything in, Harry." _

"_One of these days it's going to be too much on you." _

"_That's what Hermione said too." _

"_You should listen to her, she's smart." _

"_That's also why I've been avoiding her. Keep this up and you'll get the same thing too." _

_Harry sighed. He stood up and made for the door but halted half way and turned back to look at his bestfriend, still unmoving. _

"_You're right Ron, I was bitter and cold when I lost Sirius and Dumbledore. You gave me my space and I thank you both for that. But never once had I ever pushed you or Hermione out of my life. Not once." _

"_That's because you still need us. You have horcruxes to hunt and Voldemort to kill." _

"_Are you saying you don't need me now?" _

"_I'm saying you don't need me now." _

"_And what if I say I still need you?" _

"_I'll say I have nothing to offer you mate." _

"_You don't get it do you?"_

"_What's there to get!" _

"_Ron, you think pushing us away is a bloody noble thing to do but trust me, what we need is to have you back with us, that's the only thing that'll make Hermione happy, NOT pushing her away!" _

"_Don't even try to understand why I'm doing what I'm doing. You don't know!" _

"_Then tell me!" _

_Realizing that he had just yelled that, Harry's shoulders sagged and his eyes soften again. He approached Ron, who was now staring out the tiny window of his room. _

"_What happened back there Ron? You never did tell me about that. No one knew how they died." _

"_It was a war, they were killed. It doesn't matter HOW they died Harry, they're dead and never coming back!" _

"_It matters when you start screaming and crying in your sleep every night calling out for your mom, Ron. It's making you sick and-"_

"_You can have Percy's room if I wake you at night." _

"_That's not IT!" _

"_Godric Harry, what do you want from me!" At this point, Ron had suddenly stood up to meet Harry's height but the moment those hard lines on his face turned into one of pain expression and the tall young man wavered on his feet, Harry reached out to grab him. _

"_I can stand on my own!" Ron yelled as he quickly grabbed for the side table to balance himself. _

"_You can't. You're in pain. Stop being a prick and let me help you." _

"_This is what I'm going to be from now on isn't it? The invalid. The one everyone has to take care of." _

"_I…I didn't mean it that way." _

_Ron shook his head. "I believe you were leaving just now Harry." _

_-_

Hermione realized, as she stood frozen in shock in the middle of the living room, that she needed to be hex to the next life. She couldn't believe how careless she had been the entire time. She recalled Ron saying about putting up a ward around the Burrow when there was no one home, she was sure now that the same thing should apply before everyone go to sleep at night. It was only logical to do that, especially after two of her friends just told her about the riot in Azkaban before apparating.

"She's not a Weasley, there's not a single red hair on her head!"

"No, no, this is better still Patrick, she's Hermione Granger!"

"The mudblood?"

"Yeah, the youngest Weasley boy's love!"

"Oh I bet they're married by now though Eddy."

"So that makes her a Weasley."

"This is even better than we planned."

As the two escaped prisoners held their conversation, Hermione couldn't help thinking how much they reminded her of Fred and George, in a dark, sadistic, evil kind of way.

"Tell me mudblood, are you alone tonight?" The one called Eddy asked.

"Please, I need to-" Hermione paused half way. Would it be smart to let them know about Ron and Mr. Weasley? There was no reason to harm them as well. If they were going to kill her off or take her as hostage, Ron and Mr. Weasley might just be free from harm's way. But who would get Neville? Ron needed help _now._

"You need to WHAT!" The one called Patrick yelled.

Hermione jumped and shook her head. "No…nothing. I meant to say, there's no one else here except for me."

"Yeah, she'd do for now Eddy. She's Harry Potter's bestfriend after all."

"Should we bring her back home now?"

"No. We need to find out if it's safe back home."

"And how do we do that?"

"Shut up and let me think!"

Hermione figured she could take them both down easily; she had battled five Death Eaters on her own during the final battle, and then many more after that. For Merlin's sake, she battled Lucius Sodding Malfoy herself didn't she; this should be a piece of cake. She figured she could disarm Patrick, who most likely had stolen the wand from an Auror and then stupefy the other before throwing a leg lock spell at Patrick. That should give her time to magically bind them and contact-

"Don't you go having some nasty thoughts Mudblood, I won't hesitate to kill you if I have to!" The one called Eddy yelled at her.

As he pointed the wand to her chest though, a dreadful feeling fell over her. She blinked her tears away, refusing to let her fears overcome her. She knew now she couldn't be able to keep her promise to Ron. Maybe Ron was right to push her away all those time. What good was she to him? He asked for her help but all she did was put him in more danger than he already was in.

She stole a glance towards the Weasley's clock. Arthur Weasley and Hermione Granger had joined Ron Weasley in Mortal Peril.

"What are you looking at? I told you I'll KILL you if you have something up your sleeves!"

Hermione gritted her teeth and stared back at the man coldly though inside she was falling apart. "I can't if I want to, I don't have my bloody wand."


	8. Gryffindor's Hooligans

_It started out as usual. They would retreat into their invisible tent and Hermione would go straight for her books; getting a head start for their next mission. Harry would try to make a decent meal out of stuff they had bought or found or picked along the way. Ron would be lying on his back, his eyes closed yet far he would be from sleep. _

_It was Ron's way of calming himself down and collecting his thoughts. Replaying the events that had occurred earlier that day and figuring out if they had done the right thing or if they had left behind trails for Voldemort's men to follow. _

_At the same time, he would take comfort in the rustling of papers as Hermione turned yet another page of whatever book she was reading and her random 'hmmm' and 'ahhh' when something caught her attention. And then there would be her frustrated sighs and huffs and the slamming of yet another book when she couldn't find what she was looking for. _

_These sounds would usually blend naturally with that of Harry muttering some transfiguration spells or charms and the clanging of utensils as he attempted to conjure instant boiling water for tea. The days when they could find wild mushrooms, Ron swore Harry looked like a chef eagerly anticipating on a new recipe. _

_That particular night Ron was imagining himself flying on his broom. That little image turned into him playing Keeper for the Canons. The crowd grew wild as he attempted saves after saves. Sometimes, he swear he could hear them chanting 'Weasley is our King! Weasley is our King!' That image would morph into something dark. He would be flying away from something or someone. The sky was dark but the danger hanging in the cold still mist was thrilling to him. Something kept chasing but he would always be a step ahead. _

_This was when Hermione's voice interrupted his little daydream. _

"_What are you thinking about Ron?" _

"_Why?" Ron asked with his eyes still closed. _

"_You're smiling. Must be a nice thought."_

_Ron opened his eyes and turned to look at her. She had the book now resting on her lap, closed. _

"_Just thinking about playing quidditch."_

"_You can still think about that?"_

"_Why not? Helps with the stress." _

"_Wish it's that easy for me." _

"_Shouldn't reading release yours?" Ron thought he heard Harry snickered softly. _

"_Not this kind of read." _

"_Then you should stop." _

"_And do what exactly?"_

"_You should lye down next to me and-"_

"_We will not have any of that as long as I'm in this tent." Harry cut in. _

"_Shut up Harry." Ron said, rolling his eyes. "You should do this too. Lye down and close your eyes." _

"_Why?" _

"_So we can imagine this together. I promise it'd be fun." _

_Harry gave Hermione a weary look but she only shrugged and laid on her back next to Ron and closed her eyes. Ron smirked and joined her. "Whenever you're ready mate." _

"_What do I do next?" Hermione asked. _

"_Well, usually, I'd start with a question." _

"_A question?" _

"_Yeah. Here, let me start." Ron said. There was a short period of silence before he continued. "Okay so, what do you think you'd be doing right now if Voldemort never exist?" _

"_That's easy." Hermione claimed. "I'd be in Hogwarts for my final year." _

"_Good start. So, I imagine me and Harry are there as well." _

"_Yes, both of you."_

"_I imagine you'd be the Head Girl." Ron smiled. _

"_Ha! That's a laugh. Hermione broke tons of school rules just by being with us." Harry said suddenly. Ron chanced a peek to his left and found Harry next to him, on his back, eyes closed, with a hint of a smile on his face. _

"_You're right Harry. Hermione would be a rebellion." _

"_Of course, we're the three Gryffindors who always create problems for everyone." Harry added. _

"_A bunch of hooligans." Hermione said. _

"_Yeah." Harry confirmed with a small laugh. _

"_Right, so our favorite target is Draco Malfoy." Ron continued. _

"_Yeah, skinny, geeky Malfoy." Harry said. _

_Hermione giggled loudly. "Shhh! Hooligans don't giggle Hermione!" _

"_Oops, sorry Ron." _

"_You just caused Gryffindors ten points." _

"_Boo!" Harry cried. _

"_Oh do shut up." Hermione grumbled. _

" _So, our favorite class is?" _

"_Potions." Hermione said, at the same time as when Harry said Defence against the Dark Arts._

"_What?" Harry exclaimed. "No way, we HATE potions!" _

"_But maybe we do love potions in this other world?" Ron suggested. _

"_Please, Snape will still be his greasy old self." Harry argued. _

"_No boys, listen!" Hermione said. In her excitement, she started slapping Ron's arm to get his attention. "We love potion because in this other world, we're all excellent in Potion and-"_

"_Well, you maybe." Ron and Harry snickered. _

"_Shut up Ron." Hermione huffed. "So, we're excellent in potions so we love to make life a living hell for our potion professor." _

"_And we turn him into a toad every morning!" Harry cried. Ron laughed. _

"_You're right Ron, this is fun!" Hermione smiled. She turned to face him and gave his arm a soft squeeze. Ron opened his eyes and returned her smile. "So, were you pretending to play for the Canons earlier?" _

"_At first yeah. And then I got chased by some unseen thing." _

"_What do you think that is?" Harry asked. _

"_Dunno. But it was fun." _

"_Fun?" Hermione exclaimed. "That's horrible!" _

"_It's like a game." Ron shrugged. "Besides, it's not real." _

"_Real is right now." Harry whispered as he pushed himself up and turned to look at his friends. "I'm sorry you're both dragged into this." _

"_No one's dragging anyone." Hermione said. "I'm here by choice." _

"_But you don't have to make any choice if you don't know me in the first place." _

"_Then someone else would be here instead of me and you'd be telling that someone the same thing you just told us." _

"_Or that person could have chosen not to come with me." _

"_Well you're better off knowing us then," Ron pointed out. "You know you need her brain to get this far." _

"_You're right." Harry laughed. _

"_And of course you need a Ron Weasley too." _

"_Oh really?" Hermione laughed. "And why is that Ronald?" _

_Ron shrugged. "You need a red head, that's just the way it is." _

"_I like that." Hermione blushed as she looked at Ron, who was grinning from ear to ear. _

_Harry rolled his eyes playfully at his friends. "I think I'm going to barf." _

-

To say that he was scared was an understatement. Ron was terrified. Sure he had woken up countless of times with a fever so high he thought he was going to pass out before he could get to take his medications before; but to fall so deep into unconsciousness with a fever that high would have been fatal. In fact, Ron was sure he would never wake up to see the day if it hadn't been for Hermione.

Had she been checking up on him or was that a coincidence that she had walked into his room and found him in that state?

Ron shuddered. The night was getting colder by the second and Ron wasn't sure for just how long he could keep this up and not give in to sleep once again. Sitting up right and doing nothing wasn't helping at all. He needed to do something to keep his mind active.

Perhaps he should check on his dad. If there really was a need for him to go to St. Mungo's, then someone needs to come and look after him.

"Accio wand."

Two wands almost smack him on the face. "Well, that woke me up." Realising Hermione had forgotten her wand, Ron managed a small shake of his head. "She must've really panicked."

Pushing himself up wasn't as difficult as he had anticipated although the dizziness did threaten to push him back down. After getting his bearings back, Ron made his way out of the room. With only the small light at the tip of his wand, Ron made his way to his parents' room, in his mind, a map of the path helped him to navigate his way. After all, he'd only lived there all of his life.

It was while on his way there that he heard muffled voices coming from the living room. At first he brushed it off as Neville's but the conversation seemed harsh and threatening and it caught his attention.

He made his way slowly to the stairs and climbed down a few steps to get a better look.

There were two men who looked uncannily like Sirius when he first morphed from a black dog to a man. They were both looking at Hermione, who seemed to be in shock.

"_You need to WHAT!"_

Any feeling of dizziness that just seconds ago was threatening to push him off the stairs were now gone. In its place, a desire to hit thousands of curses at the intruders was mounting. That anger alone would have been enough to get a reaction out of Ron, but the sensible side of him, the one who always believe in caution, told him that he needed a plan, and fast.

"_No…nothing. I meant to say, there's no one else here except for me." _

That's my Hermione, Ron thought.

Ron crept his way back up to his parents' room, where his dad was still peacefully asleep. No one has to know that he was in here. If his plan fell apart, they could still save his dad. Careful not to wake him up, Ron bent over as slowly as his body allowed him, and kissed his dad on his forehead. You just never know when you'd see them last.

He studied the room quickly; making sure everything was in place. He could still smell his mother in this room.

With a quick flick of his wand, he cast the silencing spell over the room. If dad were to wake up with a fit, they wouldn't hear him.

Ron made his way back to his room as fast as his legs could carry him. He knew it was a gamble to leave Hermione on her own and especially without her wand but Ron figured he wouldn't be helping anyone at all if he had acted irrationally.

He went straight to Pig's cage, where the little owl for once, wasn't jumping all over the place.

"Sorry Pig, but you've got work for me tonight." The bird didn't seem to mind at all as he jumped on his arm and started to squeak. "Shh! You need to pipe down buddy, just this once, please."

Ron reached out for a small parchment and started scribbling a short note before scrolling and tying it up on Pig's leg. "Find Harry Potter for me okay."

Pig didn't need a second instruction as he flew out the tiny window, leaving Ron to now make his next move.

"Oh Godric, not now, please." Ron grimaced as a shot of pain sprang from the wound. It was so blinding that Ron doubled over; the weakening grasp of his arms to the edge of the table was the only thing keeping him on his feet.

Seconds felt like hours, just to ride through the pain until it was nothing more but an annoyance. He went through the drawer once more and took a half filled vial of Essence of Rue and drank it up. He needed all the strength he could muster for the next step.

It was risky, he knew, but it was also the only way Ron decided would work. He made his way back to the staircase as quietly as possible. He could hear the two men talking now but Ron couldn't make out what they were talking about.

Both of them were facing Hermione, who was still standing at the same exact spot he saw her last. One of them were asking her a question that she refused to answer and it angered the other man enough to give her a tight slap on her face. Hermione didn't even budge from her spot but the hit was enough to leave a red mark behind.

Ron closed his eyes and prayed he didn't mess it all up. He knew at the state he was in, he could die doing what he was going to do but death was something Ron wasn't afraid of anymore.

_That's chess. You have to make some sacrifices. _

He pictured the living room and where he wanted to be, which wasn't that difficult since everything was very familiar to him. And then he felt that tugging feeling that started from his navel and a searing pain from his wound that felt like he was being torn apart and he was lifted off the steps and on to solid ground with a pop.

In that mere second, three things happened.

Hermione's gasped of surprise to see him there, the two men turning around to face him in a speed of lightning and Ron raising his wand to disarm the man on his right. He yelled 'stupefy' at the man on his left, who instantly froze and fell with a thud.

Ron was too slow to react when the disarmed man charged at him though, and he fell on his back, his head hitting the ground with a force so hard, he was surprised he didn't hear a crack.

The man continued to hit him on his face as he lay there, too weak to even lift his hand. He didn't hear or see Hermione as she crept up behind the man and kicked him to the side before casting a binding spell on him. Somewhere along the line, she had managed to grab for her wand that Ron had let slipped when he was attacked.

The next thing he knew, Hermione was hovering above him with that look of concern on her face. She was also talking but Ron couldn't seem to understand her. He was hurting everywhere but even Ron was surprised when he started coughing blood at some point. Yes, death would have been a relief but for the first time in a long time, Ron had never felt so certain about wanting to have Hermione in his life.

After that, everything else seemed to look and feel like a scene out of a muggle's movie.

There were Harry, Ginny and the twins in the living room, followed by a couple of Aurors Ron wasn't familiar with. Ginny was crying, Harry was yelling at someone and the twins were trying to convince Hermione to let go of his hand.

And then Neville came out of nowhere, the frown on his face as he made a quick check on his body wasn't comforting at all. Ron knew he was in trouble now and it was scaring him for some reason. So Ron did the one thing he knew best; he closed his eyes and went flying on his broom.

_An: I know that's a cliffy and I'm mean like that, heh. Good news is, we only have 2 more chapters to go so you won't be left hanging for long. Thank you again for the reviews (I don't think I can say that enough). _

_Pugui & Greenpluff: I'm glad to know you both liked the flashbacks, like I said before, I had a hard time with it for the previous chapter. And we'll get to what happened to mom and Percy soon, I promise :D Btw Greenpluff, I understand how hectic being a law student is, so thank you for taking time out to review the last chapter! _


	9. Molly's Son

_Harry just killed Voldemort. The last battle had been won. And the three of them were still alive, therefore the promise had been kept, they truly had each other's back. Hermione and Ron looked on as Harry stood before his nemesis until the very last speckle of Voldemort ceased to exist. _

_Whatever was left of Voldemort's supporters had disapparated, most likely into hiding now that everyone would be hunting for them. A crowd was beginning to form as cheers of victory rang in the air. Everyone was congratulating each other and those who had been spared from serious injuries were jumping for joy. _

_Harry looked back, his eyes searching for his two best friends. He met Ron's gaze first and to his surprise, Ron was smiling. He didn't have to say the words but Harry knew Ron was congratulating him. Hermione was crying, which didn't really surprise Harry at all. He shook his head at her and she managed a half-hearted laugh. _

_For the trio, there was nothing more they'd rather do than the desire to be close together. To really let reality sunk in on them. This was it, they had gone through everything and now, they were still standing. But Ron and Hermione were once again reminded that their bestfriend was Harry James Potter, the man who killed Voldemort. Before any of them had the time to make that move, Harry was drowned by a sea of well wishers, who were carrying him on their shoulders and chanting his name over and over again. _

"_Your head's bleeding, did you know that?" Ron asked, immediately pulling Hermione out of her reverie. It melted her heart, to know that even in his condition, it was her safety that he was looking out for. Never mind if he was badly injured himself, or the fact that he had just lost his mother and brother. _

"_It doesn't hurt anymore." _

"_Maybe that's a bad thing?" Ron asked. "You might have a concussion for all we know." _

_She smiled and reached to cup the side of his face with the palm of her hand; her thumb rubbing small circles on his bruised cheek. "Thank you, for saving me." _

_He closed his eyes momentarily and then moved his head ever so slightly to kiss her hand. Hermione could feel his warm breath as he sighed before looking back at her. "I love you." _

"_I love you too." Hermione replied, now embraced in his hug. "You do well to remember that Ron Weasley." _

_Hermione wasn't sure what happened after that. Once the cheers and the celebration died down, there was a sudden chill that drew upon them. The aftermath of a terrible war was beginning to hit everyone on their faces. Everyone around them was rushing to be somewhere else. There were cries for help and kids crying, calling out for their moms and dads. When she woke up next (she wasn't even sure when she had fallen asleep), she was on a bed in a crowded hospital room at St. Mungo's. _

_The room seemed to be occupied by injured women and children. Since it was early morning, most of the patients were fast asleep; the only noise Hermione could hear was the soft but rushed footfalls of a mediwitch making her rounds. She tried pushing herself up to get her attention but decided against it when she felt a dizzying rush took over her the moment she lifted her head. _

_She decided to close her eyes once more, mentally assessing her physical situation. Her limbs seemed to be feeling fine, just a little ache from the lack of use most likely. Her shoulders were killing her but she attributed this fact for the lack of use as well. It was only the head, throbbing with splitting headache. _

"_Just brilliant." Hermione huffed. _

"_That's the first positive thing I've heard in a very long time!" Hermione's eyes flew open at the sound of a hushed yet cheerful voice. The nurse she was trying to get attention from was standing by her bed, smiling down at her. "Hermione Granger, welcome back to the land of the living." _

"_Thanks." Hermione croaked. Her throat felt dry and she realized for the first time how thirsty she was. _

"_I'm Nurse Cahill by the way. How are you this fine morning?" _

"_My body's aching and my head's killing me, but other than that, brilliant." She offered a smile. _

_The nurse 'hmmm' under her breath and waved her wand quickly over her body before checking her medical record that was placed at the end of her bed. _

"_So what's the verdict doc?" Hermione asked lightly. _

_The nurse chuckled and placed the medical record back where it belonged and approached her. "You had a concussion from that nasty blow on your head but we have potions to get rid of the headache. Minor aches and bruises come with having to fight in a war so overall, you're doing very well. Just lay still, I'll come back with the potion and a glass of water, you sound like you could use one right now." _

_Hermione nodded and then decided she shouldn't be nodding too much until the headache was gone. Ron was right after all, she did have a concussion. _

_That was when it hit her full force on the face: Where was Ron? And Harry for that matter? _

_Her heart started beating a notch than normal and the room felt warm all of a sudden. When had they been separated in the first place? _

"_Here you go." Hermione opened her eyes again and Nurse Cahill was back, with the potion and a glass of drink on a tray. She opened the vial and handed it to her. "It should taste bitter, as all medicine for some reason should taste like." _

_She didn't care about the bitterness, it helped to send some kind of a shock signal to her brain and wake her up even more. She took two gulps of the drink before leaning back against the headboard. _

"_I need to find out what happened to my friends, could you help me?" _

_The nurse smiled sympathetically at her before nodding. "If you're wondering about Harry Potter, you should know that he's treated like the star he is over here. He broke a few ribs and had a concussion but he's doing very well. He woke up just last night." _

"_Last night?" _

"_Well yes. He's-" Nurse Cahill paused and then let out a soft 'of course', all of which, was confusing Hermione. "You've been asleep for the last four days Ms. Granger but it was normal after what your body was subjected to. They gave Harry a lot of potions to heal the broken ribs and it was best to let him sleep through the healing or he'd be in too much pain most of the time." _

_Hermione couldn't help herself but nodded. "Yes, I've had my ribs broken once, not a nice feeling. But he's okay you said?" _

"_Yes. Woke up and said he's hungry. I also heard he created quite a scene, asking about you." _

"_Do you know what happened to Ron Weasley then? He was with me before…I actually can't remember how we got separated. I was with him right after Harry killed Voldemort."_

"_Ron Weasley the red head young man?" _

"_Yes, him." _

"_Well, I wasn't there when they got him here, in fact I wouldn't have known anything about his condition if it hadn't been for what I heard this morning from a fellow nurse." Nurse Cahill said and then decided she had enough of standing up and opted to take a sit. "She said Harry was upset when they told him about Mr. Weasley's condition that was why he demanded that he see you." _

_Hermione swore her heart stopped beating for a second. What was that supposed to mean? Was Ron in any kind of danger? "Is something wrong with Ron?" _

"_I don't know if I'm the right person to tell you this dear, bear in mind I just heard this from one person this morning." Hermione nodded eagerly, wanting the nurse to continue. "Well, apparently they had complications with him. He was hit by an unknown curse-"_

"_Yes. He jumped in front of me and took the curse. The bleeding didn't stop no matter what we did!" _

_The nurse nodded in understanding. "Yes, that's what I heard. He lost a lot of blood when they were tending to him. They have yet to find a complete cure for his wound but for now they've managed to control the bleeding." _

"_Is he awake?" _

"_Oh honey, I'm afraid your friend is still in a coma. He lost a lot of blood-"_

"_In a coma!" _

"_Well yes, it's a muggle term you see-"_

"_I know what it means! But…oh Ron…he was fine when I was with him, he didn't even complained about the wound…I thought…" _

"_That's what the nurse told me as well. He came in here like any other patient, waiting for their turn in the waiting room. You must have been separated from him when you passed out on your way here because you were unconscious when I assisted the mediwizard who attended to you." _

_Hermione swallowed the information like an overload of too many ingredients in a potion class. She didn't recall passing out at all. _

"_You said he was fine when he came here?" _

_Nurse Cahill nodded. "Well, he didn't complain or asked to be attended to on an urgent basis. Apparently from what I was told, he just waited like everyone else. When it was his turn, they found him unconscious in his seat; the nurse who told me said that the poor young man was probably in shock to do anything and we were out staff, we didn't see that coming." _

"_Oh Merlin!" Hermione cried. "He has to be alright! He can't die!" _

"_Dear, please calm down. I'm sorry you have to find out this way; I shouldn't have told you, what was I thinking? You just woke up and I-"_

"_No, no, I'm thankful that you told me." Hermione cut in. "He's my boyfriend, you understand?" _

_Nurse Cahill's face fell. She then got up and offered her a hug. "He's a strong lad isn't he? I have a feeling he'll wake up soon. Look I promise you once the headache is gone, I'll personally escort you to see your friend Harry. I'm not sure if they're allowing visitors into Ron's room, but I'll find it out for you." _

_Hermione nodded and muttered a thank you in between her sobs. Nurse Cahill left, pulling the curtain by her bed closed to give her the privacy that she needed. As she sank lower into the bed, Hermione cried into the pillow to muffle the noise. It should have been her fighting for her life right then if it hadn't been for Ron. If he didn't pull through the coma, she didn't think she could forgive herself for his death. Hermione didn't think she could live without Ron Weasley in her life. _

_-_

As Harry stole another glance at the clock on the wall of St. Mungo's waiting room, he felt that it was all too familiar for comfort. He had been here before, about two years ago, doing the exact same thing: worrying over the safety of his bestfriend. He remembered thinking back then, that he didn't think he could have survived going through such a thing again, but there he was now, and it felt like a never ending cycle.

Hermione, who had been sitting next to him to his left, had been quiet throughout. At some point that early morning, he had wrapped his arm around her, allowing her body to relaxed against him. She had yet to say a word and Harry didn't bother asking. There was no use for words now, the silence seemed to say much more.

Ginny, who had been sitting to his right, talked to him instead; both wondering how much longer they had to wait until someone could update them about Ron. The twins had come and gone, both having to return to the Ministry for a debrief. Apparently, a new group of Aurors had been called for duty to capture a handful of escaped prisoners still at large.

Bill and Fleur had came as well but left to take care of Mr. Weasley as well as trying to get in touch with Charlie, whom they were told had left on an expedition somewhere in Egypt and couldn't be contacted.

So Harry, Ginny and Hermione remained that way for another hour before Neville Longbottom came for them.

"You looked like you've been up all night." Harry offered.

"I have been up all night actually."

Harry nodded sympathetically and motioned for the young man to take a sit. "Please bring us some good news."

Neville looked at Hermione apologetically, which made Harry nervous. "Ron is still in the emergency room, I don't know the verdict as they wouldn't allow me in there."

"And why is that?" Ginny asked.

Neville shrugged. "Said I'm too emotionally distraught to help. But how can I not? He's my friend!"

Harry nodded in understanding.

"Luna's in there though, and she promised she'll get some update on him if she managed to slip out of there."

Again, Harry nodded his head, unsure of what to say.

"Neville, how come you and Luna didn't come for dinner tonight? Did you forget?" Hermione asked. Harry thought it was a good change to see Hermione looking more alert than she had been the entire night they were there.

"Oh, I'm really sorry about that Hermione. That's the reason why I'm here actually. You see, earlier tonight, I got an emergency call that one of my patients who had volunteered to try out the cure went into a relapse and-"

"The same cure Ron's on?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, that one. You see, each volunteer was thoroughly explained on the dos and dont's while under this medication and this guy, he skipped on a medication and had a relapse and now his body is rejecting the medications. It's making him worst."

"Neville, no one else knew about these dos and don'ts that you told Ron. If he had skipped a step or broken any of the rules, we wouldn't have known." Hermione cried.

Nevilled ran his fingers through his already messy hair, sighing softly as he did so. "That's what they're trying to figure out right now. You mentioned he was looking pale earlier in the day, we need to figure out if he had exerted himself too much and made himself sick or if him apparating in his condition was the reason why he's in such a bad condition when I first checked on him. I'm hoping his body isn't rejecting the medications because if it did, I'm afraid I have to take him off the list."

Ginny's eyes grew wide. "You mean, you're not going to let him have a go at the cure? He's going to have to go back to the old routine?"

"It's not that I'm not going to let him to; if his body rejects the medication, I'm forced to. He'll only grow weaker if we let him carry on with it."

The room fell silent as everyone processed this new bit of information. Harry knew, without a doubt, that self-guilt was already eating at Hermione. He should know, because it was him that she went to when Ron was fighting for his life after the war. It should have been her, she had said.

"Oh look, Luna got us something!" Neville claimed, almost too excitedly. Harry noticed a folded yellow piece of paper in his hands.

"How did that get here?"

"Magic." Neville said, with a 'duh' look on his face.

"Right."

"They're trying to stop the internal bleeding most likely caused by the apparation although she made a side note saying that was just the invisible crying nag larks at work."

"What the hell is that?" Ginny frowned.

"No idea." Neville said.

"It's invisible." Harry reasoned. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Anything else Neville?" Hermione worried. Neville looked back down at the piece of paper and nodded. "Yes. Minor concussion...high fever...but it's safe to say that his body isn't rejecting the medication so far and that the fever was caused by overwork."

"That's good news right?" Hermione asked.

Nevilled nodded and offered a smile. "Yes, it means, once he's strong enough, he can get back to using them. Right now our main concern is to stop the internal bleeding, fix that concussion and break the fever."

-

_At a glance, Ron looked like someone who was geared up for a camping trip. A green sweatshirt over a black t-shirt, a dark green cargo pants and black boots; this get up, as Hermione had explained to both him and Harry the night before, would be ideal for their kind of trip. The color green will blend well in forests - something that they had collectively decided, a place they'd be walking through quite a lot for this particular trip - and the sweatshirt would warm them in the morning and at night and a black shirt wouldn't draw too much attention. The black boots, Hermione said, were ideal for their durability. _

_His bag, which really was just a bag pack, was filled with all the necessary items needed for the trip; and for once, Ron knew he had everything he needed in there because he followed the list Hermione had given him. _

_On the outside, Ron was ready to go. On the inside, he was torn. _

_He didn't have any problems in having to face his parents for breakfast in five minutes and breaking the news to them. He knew in his heart, regardless of their reaction, he would be with Harry and Hermione on their search for the remaining horcruxes. Ron knew now the role he had to play in this impending war and he didn't think anyone could stop him from doing his part. What was tearing him on the inside was leaving the house he had grown up in without his parents' blessings. Ron believed if they took the news with an open heart and understood where he was coming from and gave their blessings for their huge journey, he'd be able to sleep a little better at night, no matter where the hunt would bring them. _

_"So this is how you're going to repay me after I took care of you for seventeen years?" Ron almost fell off the edge of his bed at this sudden intrusion. Molly Weasley was standing by the door of Ron's room, her expression unreadable. _

_"Mom? What are you-"_

_"Well go on, tell me, is this how you're going to repay your mother after seventeen years?" Ron wasn't sure if she was mad or disappointed. Perhaps, it was both. His face fell, his heart felt as if a thousand bees had just stung him; this wasn't how he planned for her to find out. _

_"You knew?" Ron asked, his voice barely a whisper. He stayed seated on the edge of his bed, afraid if he moved even an inch, she'd slap him to next century. _

_Ron watched as his mother stepped into his room and sighed heavily before saying, "I'm your mother Ronald Weasley, you can't hide anything from me!" _

_"I was going to tell you and dad, at breakfast. In fact, I'm going down now." And even after he said this, Ron was still unmoving from his position. He didn't think copping out of this rather sticky situation from his mother would help. _

_"You're not going anywhere, sit down." Ron wasn't sure what to do because he was already seated. He scratched his head lightly and wondered if he was supposed to get up and then sit his bottom back down; but he was spared this rather weird situation when his mother spoke once again. "So you're going to tell me at breakfast and then five minutes later leave the Burrow like you're going off to some fun summer camp, is that it?" _

_Ron wasn't sure what a summer camp was but decided it wasn't the right time to ask. "I don't know how else to tell you mom."_

_"You could have told me sooner, give me some time to digest the news and then help you prepare for this journey before you finally say goodbye and leave us." At this, Molly sat next to him on the bed. _

_"You...You're going to let me go?" Ron asked, surprised. _

_Molly sighed. "No mother would say yes to such a thing to their son Ron, but you're not just any other mother's son are you?" _

_"I'm not?" _

_Molly shook her head and smiled sadly. "You're Ron Weasley, and you're of age, and not only are you a filial son, you're a loyal friend who would never turn his back on them when they needed you the most. How can I stop you from doing something honorable like that?" _

_Ron felt as if a huge lump had settled in his throat; he swallowed and controlled his emotions as he saw the tears now welling up in his mother's eyes. "I'm going to miss you the most." _

_"Well you better!" Molly cried. "Just don't tell your dad, it might break the poor old man's heart." _

_Ron laughed and the tears started rolling down her mother's cheeks. "Promise me you'll take care of yourself?" _

_"I promise." Ron croaked, already on the verge of tears himself. _

_"And both Harry and Hermione...promise me you'll take care of them as well? You won't let your temper get the best of you?" _

_Ron nodded again. "I won't mom. I know how important this is for everyone, and especially for Harry. I won't let anything happen to him." _

_"And Hermione." Molly reminded him. "She's a nice girl Ronald and she'll be out there with two boys, you don't go give her a hard time you understand?" _

_"I won't, I promise." _

_Molly laughed. "I know you won't sweetheart. I know how much she means to you."_

_Ron blushed at this. He had a rough idea that his family in general knew what was going on between him and Hermione but to hear it coming from his mother was something else. _

_"Now you don't go worrying about us back home you understand? Just do what you have to do and come back home safely, all three of you. These are dark times Ron, and I'm sorry all of you have to be in it. You have to be prepared for the worst...this war...people will die and believe me, it could be anyone, there will be faces that you will recognise." _

_"Mom, why don't we take this a step at a time yeah?" Ron said, pulling his mother back from whatever dark abyss she had just visited. "If and when the war comes, everyone will have a part to play. Don't worry about me, please." _

_"How can I not? I'm your mother, mothers worry about their children, that's just what they do." _

_Ron nodded. "It's nice to know that someone worries about me back home. I love you mom, thanks for everything and I mean everything. I know you and dad give your best for us...I have a good life here, I will never trade it for all the galleons in the world." _

_Molly was obviously touched by Ron's sudden show of affection. It was a well-known fact that Ron had never been open when it came to his emotions. "I love you too Ronald, I love you too much that sometimes it hurt, like right now. I want you to know that regardless of your brothers' countless teasing on you, you were never a disappointment in my eyes, none of my kids are. I'm proud of the young man you've become and I want you to remember this moment, right here, you and me in this very orange room, anytime you feel like giving up." _

_At this point, Ron couldn't hold back his emotions anymore and broke down in front of his mother and Molly pulled him in a bone crushing hug. Ron will always remember the smell as he was being smothered in her hug. Molly smelt of everything that was the Burrow. _

_"And...and when you miss me out there...remember this hug... and that I'm never...ever... too far away from you." _

**tbc…**

-----

A/n: Huge thank you to HaHaHannah, qb1, MagnoliaLane & Pugui for reviewing the previous chapter! It's good to know that I'm writing Hermione well ( MagnoliaLane) because for some reason, I find it the hardest to connect with Hermione yet this story turned out to have a lot written in her view point, hehe.

qb1: Thank you for being very frank, just to let you know, I'm not offended at all! This has been my worry from day one and it played a huge part on why it took me some time to convince myself to share my writing. I was actually waiting for reviews slamming my tenses (LOL) but it seems that I have very nice reviewers, that's why I mentioned I welcome constructive criticisms. I have two problems (this is getting long, I know, lol), first is, English is not my first language and I've _always _had problems with tenses (hate, hate, hate it). Secondly, I don't have a beta, lol. The only thing closest to one that I have is the spell and grammar check on msword (grins). However, I welcome reviews that point out my mistakes, this way, I learn something and while I believe I'll keep making the same mistakes many times more, I know at some point, it'll get through my thick head and stop making them eventually, lol. So wow, I'm sorry I'm blabbering, aren't you glad this didn't come up before the chapter? Lol…and thank you again for your review and giving me those examples, I know it must have taken you awhile to go back and search for them.

Oh, and I do sincerely apologise if my tenses are making you guys cringe while you read it or if it affects the flow of your read and more power to you if you read through all those and still find time to review. I really appreciate it!


	10. Waking Up Ronald

The first time Ron was conscious enough of his surrounding, there had been a group of strangers hovering above him. His body was surprisingly numb, he couldn't feel any pain, which he thought was a good bargain. One of the strangers, an elderly woman with curly brown hair pulled into a mess of bun, who's attire reminded him so much of Madam Pomfrey, was looking at him in the eyes and coaxing him to keep them open.

It wasn't as if he didn't give his best shot, he really did; but the numbness also made him feel too light to stay awake and his eyes were hurting from the bright light, so he succumbed to darkness once more.

The second time Ron woke up was to the sounds of muffled voices surrounding him. He was too groggy however, to realize that the voices belonged to Bill and Charlie, who had stood vigil by his side every night, worrying. He didn't hear Bill saying how useless he felt as the eldest brother who did nothing while Charlie confessed he hardly knew Ron because he was away for most of his life. So caught up were Bill and Charlie in their own regrets that they didn't even realize of the few seconds when Ron had woken up.

The third time Ron woke up he felt something cold and wet on his lips and when the liquid hit the tip of his tongue, Ron just wanted more of it.

"That's it mate, it's only ice chips."

The voice of Harry Potter however, forced him to open his eyes. It was hard, his eyelids felt as if a hippogriff had sat on them but Ron was determined to see what an ice chip looked like so he told the hippogriff to bugger off and finally opened his eyes.

The sight of his best friend running this ice chip on his lips, however, unnerved Ron. Harry was concentrating too hard to notice that his eyes were opened. Also the fact that Harry was gazing at his lips seemed to be too close for comfort.

"Here Harry, give him another one."

And it seemed to get weirder because now his own sister was encouraging this…this weird act…and worst, that was her husband! But what scared Ron the worst was the fact that he liked this ice chip thing and wouldn't want Harry to stop doing what he was doing.

Shivering a little at this strange thought, Ron decided he couldn't stay awake any longer, so he invited the hippogriff to come back and sit on his eyelids. It was okay, he made it promise not to fart and Ron decided if he couldn't trust a hippogriff, whom could he trust in this world?

The fourth time Ron woke up, he was feeling less groggy and his throat didn't feel any better.

He attempted to open his eyes and did it after what felt like forever. His gaze dropped on Fred and George, both suspiciously whispering to each other. Ron forced himself back to sleep.

The fifth time Ron woke up, he didn't need to open his eyes to know whose hand that was holding on to his, belonged to. It was soft, with a hint of callus from too much writing and probably from flipping too many pages of books in her lifetime.

Ron didn't want to break this small contact they were having, it felt good to once again have her holding his hand like that. In his supposed slumber, there was no need for a reason for either of them to just hold hands and Ron liked that. The only set back was that he couldn't return the favor: to caress her hand the way she was caressing his.

However, it was the unexpected drop of tear on his arm that made him stayed very still. Ron wasn't sure how to face a crying Hermione, especially when he knew he was the cause for it. He wished he could tell her some day, that all the pushing away he had done was because he loved her. No one was there when the mediwizard told him the bad news and he had never told anyone about it; not even his bestfriend Harry. He figured nothing good would ever come from that.

Ron decided he would miss her the most, when it all come to an end.

Just the very thought of that made him hurt all over. The headache seemed to be back with a vengeance and he felt cold all of a sudden. There was a soft ringing in the distance but Ron wasn't sure if that was just his woozy head playing tricks on him. He heard Hermione's frantic voice suddenly calling out for help; he couldn't feel her touch anymore. Not liking it one bit, he willed for sleep to come.

-

_When Mediwizard Kyle Lennon paid Ron his final visit before officially releasing him from the hospital, Ron was looking out the window next to his bed. Being that his room was situated on the high floors, there was nothing to look at except for stretch of blue sky and a distant view of ruins from the war. _

_There was so much to be done once he left the sanctuary of this hospital. Bill had said that the Burrow had suffered considerable damage and they were working on putting it back together and told him not to worry about it but Ron couldn't help but worry about it; after all, if they failed to put the Burrow back together, where else could they go? _

_Ron had also decided, that the first person he needed to see soon after being released, was his dad. Charlie had told him that he was still unconscious but Ron just needed to see his face, to see for himself that he was still there, with them, albeit unconscious. _

_And then they'd probably want to have a family meeting, to go about the funerals. _

_He could still feel her in his arms, her last words forever playing in his mind. _

_Ron winced involuntarily as another spasm of pain hit him. He was told in time the pain would lessen and he'd get used to the bandage and moving wouldn't be so difficult, but for now, the slightest move felt like he was being prodded by sharp objects. _

"_Ron, have you taken your breakfast?" _

"_Hey doc," Ron forced a smile as he turned to face the mediwizard. "I drank some tea and a biscuit, yeah." _

"_Good, you're keeping it down?" Kyle Lennon asked as he placed a file on the bed. _

"_Yeah, I did." _

"_Excellent." _

"_So when can I leave exactly?" _

"_I've asked your brother Bill to come and get you in an hour, but before that, I need to talk to you, about your condition." _

"_Yeah, sure." _

"_Do you want to sit down?" Kyle Lennon asked as he gestured to the empty seat next to his bed._

_Ron shook his head. He was leaning against the wall and didn't want to move unless he really had to. "I'm fine here thanks." _

"_Okay well then, I'm sure Nurse Leigh already explained to you about your medications?" Ron nodded at this. "You understand perfectly well what should be done?" _

"_Yes. She made me a note just in case." This had the mediwizard laughing. _

"_Sounds like Nurse Leigh...you've also named Harry Potter as your contact person should we have problems finding you or if there was any kind of emergency." _

"_Yeah." _

"_That means he will be notified whenever we scheduled a check up or physical therapy sessions with you in the future, okay?" Ron nodded again. "Now Ron, I've also made you a list of things that you should and shouldn't do while you're healing and the food to avoid to prevent from aggravating the wound further. It'll be owled to you today." _

"_Okay, thanks." _

_The mediwizard nodded and offered a smile. "There is however, one last thing I need to tell you Ron, are you sure you don't want to sit down?" _

_Ron gulped. Usually when someone told you to sit down before saying what they wanted to say, it meant bad news. "I'm alright." _

"_Well then. I've told you before that there is no cure yet for your kind of injury and the only way to contain it is by using spells and potions, these procedures involve magic, I'm sure you're well aware of that." Ron nodded at this and waited for the mediwizard to continue. "Thee problem is, a body can only take so much. Magic no matter how small, is powerful, that is why you tend to feel tired after renewing the spells for the bind. That's also why it is very important that you don't exert yourself to strenuous physical activities." _

"_I understand." Ron replied short. _

"_Ron, to be honest with you, there is no guarantee for how long your body can take such magic. The good thing is, you're still young so your body has a strong immune system to accept it."_

"_Are you saying that one day, my body will reject magic?" _

_Kyle Lennon nodded regretfully. "I like to think that by then, we have found a cure for you or a more advance spell that minimize the use of magic. That is why it is important that you come for every check up we set up for you. I'll be working on your case for as long as I'm here at St. Mungo's, so you can come to me if you need to know anything or if you're having problems, okay?" _

_Ron nodded to everything that was being said but his mind was stuck to one thing. "What's going to happen once my body rejects magic?" _

_At this, the mediwizard broke his gaze from Ron for a second but it was enough to alarm him. Whatever it was he was going to say, it wouldn't sound good at all. "If we can't find a way to stop the bleeding, you will bleed out." _

_Bleed out? Bleed out till when?"You mean...bleed out until I die?" _

_Kyle Lennon nodded. "I'm sorry Ron." _

"_How…how long do you think I have before…" Ron felt his legs going numb under him; his head was spinning, already he was picturing himself in his deathbed, soaked with his blood as he breathed his last. _

"_There is no telling Ron, it's different for-"_

"_But you've had cases like this before haven't you? I'm not the first one, I know that! What's the longest a patient had ever lived after getting this?"_

"_I don't think it's wise to know such things Ron. You have to look forward instead of-"_

"_I have to know this!" Ron felt his legs almost giving up on him but he forced himself to stay up, he knew he only had one chance to milk this information out of the mediwizard. "Please, I just need to know...so I...look, I don't want to keep on worrying and wondeirng when I'm going to die, if you...give me this...timeline...I need to prepare myself." _

_Kyle sighed and shook his head. "I forgot you're a Weasley." _

_Ron managed a snicker. "We never back down." _

"_Yes, yes, I know all about the Weasley stubbornness." Kyle smiled. "If you really have to know...the last patient...it was some seventeen years ago, back during the first battle you understand...and the medical aspect of things weren't as advanced as now so-"_

"_It's okay doctor Lennon, just tell me." _

_Kyle Lennon frowned, as if it took every ounce left in his body not to break down as he said,"He was a twenty one year old healthy young man and he lived for another three years after the curse…you shouldn't take that as a timeline for yourself Ron, it's not good to think that way." _

_Three years. He'd be twenty when he dies. He'd be younger than the last patient who died from it some seventeen years ago. _

_"Ron?" _

_Ron wondered if he'd bleed out of his nose and ears if the wound was too small for that many blood to flow out of his body as he lay on his bed dying. _

_"Could you do me a favor Mr. Lennon?" _

_"What is it son?" _

"_Could you keep this information from my family? And Harry of course. You can tell them anything else, just not this. Like you said, we don't need to start panicking about this, it'll do no good for anyone." _

_"I understand Ronald, it's safe with me." _

-

After three days of waiting and hoping, the Weasleys along with Harry and her, found themselves seated in Dr. Kyle Lennon's office. They were told that while the internal bleeding had stopped, his fever had yet to break and if it went on any longer, his already weakening body would start to shut down gradually.

Hermione, being the clever witch that she was, knew that what the doctor was trying to say was that, unless Ron fight this fever, he was going to die.

On day four, they had to minimise the use of magic to heal him because his body was too weak to take the kind of power that it holds. Hermione's parents had even offered the mediwizards some help in whatever knowledge they knew on muggle medicine. Intravenous drips were soon attached to his arm, feeding him the neutrients his body desperately needed. The only form of magic still used was the one that would stop the bleeding. Hermione wasn't sure how long that would last until someone would tell her they had to stop using that too.

Ron's fever had went down on day five but they were told that his condition was still unstable, they were also warned that the fever could fluctuate again without warning. There were always a nurse stationed nearby, who would check on him every ten minutes. The day Hermione had paid her daily visit and Ron's heart had gave out on him was day five, _today_.

When the device clipped on his finger to monitor his heartbeat started to beeped at an alarming speed, Hermione knew that his heart was failing on him and she should have been prepared for such a scene; but the fact was, she wasn't. It didn't make her feel any better just because she knew, or stopped her from panicking or crying over it. There was no way Ron could die, fate couldn't be this cruel, could it?

-

_"What on earth are you doing here Ron?" _

_"Perce? Is that you?" _

_"Of course it's me, who do you think I was, a ghost? You know what, forget it." _

_"You're dead!" _

_"I know that, hence the question!" _

_"What question?" _

_"Honestly Ron, you can't be so thick." _

_"I thought you stop being a git once you die." _

_"Shut up Ronald and listen to me. I'm dead, you're not, so you can't be here." _

_"Well that doesn't make much sense now is it? I'm here, you're here, so that means we both are dead. Does being dead makes you less smart?" _

_"Ron for Merlin's sake you're NOT dead!" _

_"Then what the fuck am I doing here Percy!" _

_"Well that's the question innit!" _

_"I don't know why I've missed you for two years." _

_"I missed you too." _

_"Say Perce, is mom here? It's a shame it's so dark in here, I can't even bloody see you! But it'd be wicked if I can talk to mom." _

_"She's not here Ron." _

_"Oh great, then this must be hell. You've died and gone to hell didn't you Perce? And now I'm here, that means I'm in Hell too. Brilliant, bloody brilliant!" _

_"We're not in hell Ron." _

_"Well if this is heaven it's not bloody brilliant is it? It's just dark." _

_"This is not heaven either." _

_"Then where the heck are we?" _

_"I'm not sure if that's important right now Ron." _

_"Then what is?"_

_"Why are you here Ron? Were you in trouble before?" _

_"I'm always in some kind of trouble." _

_"Not that kind of trouble. Were you hurt?" _

_"Right...yeah...now that I think about it...I think was in the hospital Perce." _

_"Ronnie, you need to listen to me carefully okay? You have to find your way back." _

_"Easy for you to say, I'm not seeing anything at all Percy, it's all so dark. Maybe I should stay." _

_"You can't stay! It's not your time yet Ron, you have to go back." _

_"But it hurts so much when I'm back there and I'm always worrying over everything. It's kinda fun here Perce, I don't have to worry about anything." _

_"Are you saying you want to be stuck in this place forever, talking, with me?" _

_"You've got a point." _

_"Go back Ron, they still need you there." _

_"What about you?" _

_"I reckon whoever put me here to find you is going to send me back where I belong. I hope they told mom they took me for a while, she's going to go berserk otherwise." _

_"You're with mom? What is this place you talked about Percy?" _

_"It's not your time and place yet to know Ronnie, but I promise you, we're doing great up here, you don't have to worry." _

_"Could you tell mom you met me?" _

_"I think I can, yeah." _

_"Could you tell her I miss her? Everyone miss her. And you of course." _

_"I know she knows Ronnie, but I'll tell her. Could you tell everyone we miss them as well?" _

_"They might think I've gone the deep end if I said that." _

_"Good point." _

_"So I guess I have to start searching my way back then?" _

_"You have to, I don't want to stay here for long, it's not a nice place." _

_"I've never got the chance to say goodbye to you Perce, and thank you, for what you did." _

_"Neither did I. So goodbye little brother and thank you." _

_"Thanks Percey, I'll see you again one day." _

_"Take your time, there's no need for haste." _

-----

A/n: Before you go wtf! (lol) I'll let you know this is not the last chapter. It should be, but I couldn't squeeze everything in, it was

stretching a bit cause I added a few scenes that weren't there when I drafted out my original plan. I'm not promising anything, but if all goes well,

the next chapter should reveal everything, followed by another chapter which would be the epilogue, for your closure and mine :0)

qb1, pugui, Ash & GiddyGirlie, thank you so much for the very detailed reviews, I love finding out what you like in the said chapter, it never fails to make me smile, it's actually kind of addicting, lol.


	11. What's Left Of Me

**A/n: I'm so sorry for the delay, work was getting in the way. But this chapter is longer, so yay! Lol…I'm in a rush and I really want to post this up before I leave (cause there is no way I can post this if I'm at home and that means, another 2 days of wait, blah)…So I just want to thank all of you who reviewed the previous chapter, I really appreciate them! Congrats Greenpluff on passing your exams! **

**The first portion of this chapter is specially for Ash, cause you asked for it ;) **

No guards dared to stop Harry when he barged in the entrance of Azkaban. You just don't question the motives of the young man who killed Voldemort, short and simple. It also helped, in times such as this, that Harry had turned into a powerful and confident wizard. There was something about the way he walks that command attention and respect from everyone around him. And when he talks, he looked you in the eyes and stressed every word and one couldn't help but listened.

He walked straight to the guard on duty at the front desk and slammed his wand on the table, his eyes boring down on the unfortunate guard.

"The two escaped prisoners my team brought in five days ago, where are they."

It wasn't a question but an order, and the guard knew this. He also knew he shouldn't get in the way of a man on a mission. "They're still in interrogation room four, Shackelbolt is supposed to continue interrogations this-"

Harry didn't wait around for the guard to finish, his legs already navigating his way to room four, events from earlier that day playing in his mind, building up the anger and need for vengeance even more in him. Harry didn't really care if he'd end up killing the prisoners once he was through handling them that day, they had it coming.

_Harry was having breakfast at the Burrow when Hermione came rushing into the kitchen. She looked as pale as a ghost and her eyes were glistening with unshed tears and the sight terrified Harry to no end. _

"_Harry, it's Ron!" Hermione practically jumped on him and started crying on his shoulder. Already in his head, the mantra of 'no no no no' was playing._

"_What happened Hermione?" Harry asked, his voice almost lost in her hair. _

"_Something went wrong Harry…they had to rush him to the emergency room again! No one would tell me anything! Oh Godric Harry, for a second there, I thought his heart had stopped! That machine started to beep and he was so…still! I don't know-"_

"_Hermione, you have to calm down." Harry coaxed his panic stricken friend. "We don't want Mr. Weasley to hear this." _

_Hermione pulled away from him and Harry noticed that his hands were trembling. "I'm sorry, I was just-"_

"_It's okay, I understand." Harry cut her as he motioned her to sit down. "Do you want to go back to St. Mungo's and wait for him?"_

"_I'd like that but I don't think I can do it alone." _

"_You don't have to." Harry assured her. "Ginny's in the shower, once she's done, she'll go with you. I'll owl for Bill and Charlie and get the twins, they're at the Ministry right now. We'll all be there when he gets out of that room and then we'll wait some more for him to wake up. How's that for a plan?" _

"_You'll be there too then, right Harry?" _

_Harry offered her a smile and a brief hug. "I'm going to tell Moody that we're not coming to work today and then I'll be there with you, I promise." _

"_Don't take too long." _

"_I won't." _

The two prisoners were standing next to each other in the middle of the room, with a fairly big space in between them. They were magically bound and rooted to the ground beneath them. Harry also knew it was protocol that prisoners were bind with a silencing spell when left alone to prevent them from discussing or creating a scene.

There were fears in their eyes when they realised it was Harry Potter who had just barged in the room. He didn't say a single word, just a furious flick of his wand and the binds holding the first prisoner was undone. Harry then switched hands, his wand now in his left hand, he swung his free hand right under the prisoner's jaw. It cracked on impact and the body practically flew across the room, slammed against the wall and dropped with a loud thud on the concrete floor.

Harry marched over to the fallen body, squatted down in front of him and pulled him back by the hair. The man was half conscious and his head was bleeding.

"That's for Hermione." He spat. Not giving the man any time to recover himself, Harry muttered _wingardium leviosa, _was briefly brought back to the first year, watching as Hermione guided Ron through the spell to save his dangling self from the troll. _Swish and flick! _He then restored all the spells back to the first prisoner and let him suffer in silence.

He didn't pause and went straight for the next prisoner. "You're the one who almost killed him."

Harry was momentarily brought back to the night when he arrived at the Burrow soon after receiving Ron's owl. Hermione was cradling him in her arms, his face bruised from being beaten by the very man standing in front of him right. Harry remembered almost losing it when he saw Ron started vomiting blood. A part of him wanted nothing more but to carry Ron himself and get him straight to St. Mungo's while another part of him wanted to kill the two bastards right there, be damn consequences.

He didn't undo the binding spell put on the man. Instead, Harry balled his fist and landed the first punch right on his cheek. He punched blow after blow, finally giving his anger and anguish an outlet to release. He did this until the prisoner started bleeding from the nose and mouth and bruises started forming all over his face.

By the time he was done, his face was a bloody mess; just the way Harry had intended it to be.

"That's for Ron."

He then stared at the two of them, back and forth, knowing they were conscious enough to endure the pain he had inflicted on them and could hear him loud and clear. "If he dies, you have my promise that I'll come back again and finish you off. And just so you know, I always keep my promise."

When Harry reached the front desk again, Remus Lupin was there, and by the look of things, the guard was telling Remus about his little visit to the two prisoners. Harry threw them both a defiant glare and walked out of there. He heard Remus calling out to him but Harry didn't even chance a glance, he had no time to listen to yet another lecture about Auror's code of conduct.

"Not now Remus! I have a promise to a friend to keep!" And with that, Harry disapparated.

-

The sixth time Ron woke up, it was in the middle of the night, the room was dark, save for the dimly lit light nearby. Surprisingly, he felt a little better than the last time he had woken up. The headache was now reduced to nothing more than an annoyance and he was still feeling a little numb to feel any pain coming from the wound.

But what surprised Ron the most was the silhouette of his dad, slumped on the chair by his bed. He was staring out the window, lost in his own thoughts.

This time, Ron couldn't just ignore his visitor and willed for sleep to come like before. "Dad?"

His voice sounded raspy, from lack of use, but Ron was glad his throat didn't hurt as much as he had expected.

"Ron?"

"Dad, what are you doing up this late?"

His dad had gotten up from the chair and was now hovering above him, looking him in the face, as if he couldn't believe that he had finally woken up. "Oh thank Merlin you're finally awake! Are you in pain son?"

Ron shook his head and offered a smile to assure his dad. "I'm fine dad, you shouldn't stay up for me."

"You've been asleep for six days Ron and your brothers wouldn't let me come and see you, told me not to worry. A load of crap that was."

Ron wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh at the comment or cry, seeing as his dad was on the brink of tears himself. "I'm alright now though, and you're not well yourself, you shouldn't be up dad."

Arthur Weasley snorted. "You weren't well yourself and yet you still take care of me ever since your mother wasn't around to do that. I'm your father Ron, it is in my nature to worry about you when you're fighting for your life in St. Mungo's."

Ron shifted, trying to lift off the kinks he was getting on his shoulders when he noticed the drips. "Dad, what's this they've poked in my arm?"

Ron saw his father's face almost lit up immediately. "That's a muggle device Ron. Healer Lennon said they had to minimise the use of magic because your body was getting too weak to handle it. From what Hermione's mother told me, that colorless potion in that bag will help make you feel better."

_Hermione's mother? _

Seeing the puzzled look on his face, Arthur Weasley continued, "You got everyone worried about you Ronald. It made the front page of The Quibblers because you are Harry Potter's bestfriend. We almost lost you son and…I don't think I'll ever forgive myself if you had died."

Ron pushed himself up on the bed carefully and leaned heavily against the headboard. He then lifted his right hand and Arthur reached out and held it in his. "It is not your fault if I died Dad, you can't blame yourself for something you can't control."

"I know that son." Arthur said almost in a whisper. "But I will blame myself for holding you back."

Ron frowned. "What do you mean you're holding me back? You did no such thing Dad."

"Are you sure about that? I'm useless ever since my injury. You stayed behind to take care of me. Your mother would beam with pride if she could see you do the laundry and cook us a decent meal without complaining about it. You're the one who wake up every night when I have one of my fits. You never fail to take me to St. Mungo's for my check ups when you could have easily moved me to permanently stay at St. Mungo's and have the healers there to take care of me."

Ron couldn't believe what he was listening to. He had no idea his dad had been thinking that way all those time. "Dad, you're not useless! You might have been slower now but you still have a lot of fight left in you. And how can you even think about living in St. Mungo's? You have six children to take care of you Dad, and then there's Harry and Hermione…and Fleur! And your grandson Rene! We never once thought of you as a burden so you should stop thinking that way!"

Ron watched as his dad nodded and then smiled at him serenely. He felt the firm squeeze of his dad's hand on his and then returned the smile. "We're not much different son, I think it's time you take your own advice and start living again. There is still a lot of fight left in you, stop pushing them all away Ron, they're not going anywhere."

-

Hermione had the hugest smile on her face as she ran through the busy hall of St. Mungo's, up the stairs to the fourth floor and then ran all the way to the end of the passageway. She paused for a second in front of the door, only so she would not lose her balance, and then pushed the door opened and ran in, only to find Ron's bed empty.

She frowned.

The bed was made; there was nothing on the bedside table to indicate that anyone had been there. She wondered if they had forgotten to tell her that someone had brought Ron home earlier that day. And then she wondered if they would actually release Ron just a day after he had woken up. Surely he would still be too weak to move back in to the Burrow?

Her heart skipped a beat.

Maybe something happened. Maybe he had fallen sick again?

Her breathing became labored, she knew if she didn't get her emotions under control, she would most likely hyperventilate in a few seconds. She forced herself to sit on the edge of the bed and closed her eyes.

_One. Two. Three. Four. Five. _

A hand on her knee brought her back to reality. Ron was standing in front of her, with a soft smile on his face. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd even come today."

She cried, and brought the hand that was resting on her knee, to her lips, only because she knew a hug would be disastrous for him, and then she kissed it. "You know I'd be here. I'll always be here."

"I know." Ron nodded as she let go of his hand. He sat on the chair facing her and for a moment, they said nothing. Ron offered her the box of tissue, which seemed to come from nowhere as far as Hermione was concerned.

"You should get back to bed Ron."

"Nurse Cahill said I should walk around a bit, circulate the muscles and stuff."

"Was that what you were doing earlier?"

Ron nodded. "I can go as far as the bathroom on my own for now, which is a relief."

Hermione started crying again which alarmed Ron. "It's a good thing Hermione, don't cry about it."

Hermione didn't think so. There was a time when even Harry had to keep up with his long pace, to hear that Ron was happy with just walking a small distance seemed wrong to her. Hermione also knew it was wise to keep this to herself. She smiled instead. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Ron smirked playfully at her. There was another stretch of silence as Hermione kept on dabbing at tears that didn't seem to want to stop while Ron watched her intently.

After what felt like forever and Ron had summed up enough courage, he decided to break the silence. "Hermione, can I ask you something?"

She nodded, still not trusting her voice to speak.

"Do you…still love me?"

Hermione frowned. How dare he even asked her that, she thought. As if two years of wait wasn't clear enough!

"Ron, I-"

"Wait, don't answer me just yet." Ron stopped her. Hermione couldn't help but notice he was looking rather fidgety all of a sudden. "I need for you to really think about it before you tell me because it's a huge deal, telling someone that you love them."

"I can't believe you even had to ask Ron!" Hermione bellowed. "I waited two years didn't I? Didn't that say enough?"

"But don't you want to know everything about me before you make up your mind?"

"I don't need to know everything about you for me to love you. I know enough about you to know that I-"

"Don't say it!"

"Ugh! You're impossible!" Hermione's frustration made Ron laugh, and while it was music to her ears, Hermione also thought that maybe Ron had totally lost it. "It's not supposed to be funny Ronald!"

Ron stopped laughing but the hint of smile never left his face. "It is when it's hardly been five minutes and we're already bickering at each other."

She smiled, sighed and then nodded her head in resignation. "Fine Ron, tell me everything that I need to know about you so I can finally tell you that I-"

"Don't you dare say it!"

"Okay fine, go ahead then, tell me!"

"I love you, that has never changed." Ron declared. Hermione seemed to be in a trance, obviously shocked at this unexpected declaration, so Ron continued. "When I jumped and took that curse for you, it's because I love you, and because I made a promise that I'll always have your back. I know that if the situation had been reversed, you'd take the curse for me too. You have to stop blaming yourself for what happened cause I've never once regretted it."

"Did Harry tell you this?"

"He didn't. I figured it out." Ron reached out to squeeze her knee again when Hermione started wiping at her fresh tears.

"When I pushed you away, it's because I love you. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I was wrong, I know that now. You're the only person I know who could keep me engaged in conversations, even if it is about elf rights." Hermione scoffed at this but Ron waved it off and continued.

"I love it when we argue cause while you're shouting at me, I have your fullest attention. It's like, I'm the only one you see, and that's a big deal coming from a huge family like mine. I missed having that connection with you."

Hermione rested her hand on top of his, which was still on her knee, subconsciously rubbing small circles with his thumb. "Are you still going to push me away Ron?"

Ron shook his head. "I'm done pushing. It's up to you now. But there's more I need to tell you before you make your decision."

Hermione sighed. "Fine."

_Ron knew, even before he reached her, that he was too late. The death eater had disapparated and she was lying there, on battered ground, unmoving. His legs felt as if he was dragging irons balls along with him but his heart felt heavier still. He fell to his knees by her side the moment he reached there, ignoring the throbbing pain on his side, and was surprised that her eyes were opened, and her lips were moving. _

"_Don't move, you're hurt." He coaxed her as he looked around to see if a healer happened to be nearby; there was no such luck. Unsure what he should be doing next, he turned his gaze back on her. "We have to get you to St. Mungo's." _

"_I...I don't think I'll make it Ron." She gasped. Ron frowned and his gaze trailed the contours of her body. She wasn't bleeding as far as he could tell. _

"_Shut up, you're going to be okay!" _

"_He said I'll be…out of breath…in a minute." _

"_Who's he?" _

"_The death eater…before…" _

_Ron shook his head and gave her a look to tell her to stop talking. "I'm taking you to St. Mungo's myself then. Side along apparition…I might splinch you…but this calls for desperate measures." _

_She was shaking her head and breathing seemed to be a chore now. She reached out and grabbed his hand to get his attention. "No time…just…don't leave me…don't want to…die alone…" _

_Her face was pale, Ron just noticed this now, yet her long hair still glistened and she still looked beautiful as ever. "I'm not going anywhere okay?" _

_She smiled and closed her eyes, which unnerved Ron a lot. "Hey," Ron brushed the hair away from her face and rested the palm of his hand on her forehead; she felt cold to the touch. "Lavender, open your eyes for me please." _

_Her eyes fluttered, struggling to open, but she managed the little feat and reached out to touch his face. "You…you were never mine…were you Ron?" _

"_Shhh don't talk, please." _

"_Don't feel bad…about it…" Lavender wheezed. "Thank you…I had…a blast…" _

_Ron shook his head, unsure of what to say. He felt the words caught in his throat as he struggled with his emotions. Sure he had dated Lavender to spite Hermione, but she had always treated him well when they were going out, in a Lavender sort of way anyway. _

"_I…me too…you were my…first…girlfriend…" A single tear escaped his eyes and seeped through the tiny gap between his face and her hand, that was still stroking his cheek. _

_She nodded and gasped and struggled for her voice. "You…my first…and last." _

_And Lavender was gone. _

"_I'm sorry Lavender…I'm so sorry I used you!" Ron cried as he pulled her body and cradled her in his arms. "Will you ever forgive me?" _

_Her eyes were closed, she looked fast asleep as far as Ron was concerned. There was a sense of peace on her face, her hair still glowing behind her. Ron cried as he held her tight, wishing he had done something to help her. "Sleep…yeah…you should sleep now…get yourself far away from this bloody war eh? Maybe to Uranus?" _

_Ron managed a short laugh before he started crying again. Nothing else mattered right then, Ron seemed to forget that they were still at war, that at any moment, Voldemort's servant might find him there and kill him while he had his back turned. He cried for Lavender, for her future and for her loved ones. He wondered where they were right then when Lavender was struggling and died in his arms. _

"_CRUCIO!" _

_A sequence of things happened right after that._

_One, Ron knew that voice; had despised it ever since third year. It was Peter Pettigrew. Two, someone was screaming in pain and even in a distance, Ron knew he could never displaced that voice; he knew his dad was in trouble. Three, he knew he had to do something before it was too late. _

_Lying Lavender's body back to the ground gently, Ron whispered an apology for having to leave her there on her own and then made a run to his dad, whom he saw, was now twitching and struggling under the curse. _

_The iron balls were back on his legs and Ron's heart was screaming to run, to not make the same mistake twice. But he knew things would only take a turn for the worst when he heard his mother's cries next, screaming for her husband. _

"_Arthur no! Stop it you prat!" _

_As Molly threw a hex at Pettigrew and immediately broke the curse, Ron's head was screaming for his mother to get the hell away from there. _

_Pettigrew turned out to be a lot stronger than he looked, the hex only managed to slow him down for a little. He was up before Ron had reached any closer to his parents. _

"_You'll pay for that you blood traitor witch!" Pettigrew yelled as he advanced on Molly. _

"_The only traitor here is YOU Peter! Or have you forgotten what you did to James and Lily? And Sirius? Oh I wish Remus was here to blast your sorry tail back where you belong!" _

_Never let it be said that Molly would back down in the face of an enemy. _

"_If you miss them so much, then I shall bring you to them!" Pettigrew yelled. _

_Ron's heart stopped, he knew it did. He wasn't sure if he had stopped running altogether, or if time seemed to stop where he was because he couldn't seem to get there any faster and Ron was known for his long legs and fast pace! He watched, as if the scene was played out in that muggle box Harry once told him was 'TV' and knew he couldn't do anything about it. _

"_AVADA-"_

"_No!" _

"_KEDAVRA!"_

_Percy dropped with a loud thud in front of his mother's feet. This time, Ron knew he stopped running, more from shock than worn out. He didn't think even his mother knew where Percy had came from; no one saw that coming. The same Percy who had never resolved his differences with the family, who had battled on their side of the war yet adamant to stay on his own rather than swallowing his pride and seeking forgiveness from his parents – his same old git of a brother, had took the death curse for their mother. _

"_YOU FUCKING RAT!" The words were out of his mouth before he even realised he had yelled it. His legs had also decided to abandon the iron balls, it felt light now as a new surge of energy came over him; oh how he wanted to kill this bastard so bad. _

_Peter Pettigrew turned to look at him and he smiled excitedly when he realised it was Ron. _

"_Ah, first Percy, now you! Brilliant!" _

"_Oh no you don't. You're NOT going to kill another son of mine!" Molly yelled as she advanced towards Pettigrew, wand pointed dangerously at him. _

"_Mom no!" Ron cried as he pushed to close the distance between them. _

"_Of course Molly, perhaps I should spare him and kill you instead. Even better!" _

"_You can try." Molly spat before swishing her flick, sending Pettigrew flying again but he managed to send Molly flying on the opposite direction as well. _

_Ron ran to his mother, who was now lying on the ground, unprotected. "Mom! Mom, are you alright?" _

"_I'm alright Ronnie." Ron didn't wait for her as he stood up and went straight for his old pet. _

_Peter Pettigrew was already on his feet by the time Ron reached for him. He was smiling, his eyes wide and dark, like the crazy man he had turned into. "You son of a bitch, you'll pay for this!" _

_Ron wasn't sure what happened next; he knew he had raised his wand, ready to fire the first hex that came to mind, but the next thing he knew, he was choking and fighting for his breath, he felt his eyes beginning to water and he was struggling to get away from whatever thing that was on its way to breaking his neck. _

"_YOU TAKE YOUR BLOODY HAND OFF MY SON!" Ron's vision began to blur and he wondered if this was how Lavender had suffered earlier, to have the air taken from you as you choke on nothingness. _

"_I dare you to make your move Molly! Just a little more pressure and I'll have his neck crushed in my hand!" This immediately froze Molly and Pettigrew turned to look back at Ron. _

"_How about it Ronald? Should I kill you or your mother?" _

_Ron struggled, gripping against the thing that now Ron knew was Pettigrew's silver hand. " Kill me!" He gasped. _

"_Okay then." Pettigrew grinned and then directed his wand away from Ron and aimed at his mother. "AVADA KADAVRA!" _

_The grip on his neck loosen a little as Pettigrew laughed at the dead body of his mother. Ron took this opportunity to raise his own wand and pointed it at the silver arm before muttering, as clearly as he could, the severing spell. _

_To Ron's surprise, it worked. _

"_You…my arm!" Pettigrew cried with a look of bewilderment on his face. He kept darting back and forth from his severed arm to looking at him, as if he couldn't believe Ron was capable of such things. _

"_And I'm not done!" Ron yelled, his anger nowhere near subsiding even after what he did. Now Ron really had no care if he was going to regret his actions later, every being in his body wanted to see Peter Pettigrew dead, and Ron knew it was left for him to do the deed. _

"_That was just a demo you fuck!" _

_Ron muttered 'sectumsempra' under his breath and watched as the slash ripped open Pettigrew's neck, immediately choking him in his own blood. He didn't move until he was sure Pettigrew lay dead on the ground. Also, Ron didn't think he could turn to face the dead bodies of his family. _

_-_

"Ron, I'm so sorry." Hermione had gotten down from the bed and embraced Ron in a hug she knew he desperately needed. He didn't push her away but cried in her arms instead. Words seemed useless then, so she kept rubbing his back and cried along with him.

Somewhere along the way, Ron had pulled back and admitted that he wasn't feeling so well and Hermione had moved him to his bed. He lay on his side while Hermione sat on the chair and held his hand.

"Sleep Ron, we can talk again tomorrow if you're not done."

Ron shook his head, stubborn as ever. "No, I have to tell you everything today or I might lost the nerve to do it again."

"But what else could you possibly tell me Ron? I know everything about your need to push me away for my own good; in fact I knew it was coming even before the war. That's why I lo-, like you; you're always putting everybody you love first. If I didn't know this, I wouldn't have waited for you for two years!" Hermione cried as she tightened the hold on his hand when she felt him pulling away.

"Hermione, if you're looking to love the Ron you knew before the war, I'm sorry to say that he isn't here anymore. I wish he is, but he's not. I need for you to be sure that you're not just here because you know and love that other Ron."

Hermione remained quiet; her gaze had fallen to their intertwined hands. "I will be a burden to you if you chose to be with me, living with this…there are more lows than high. And…it wouldn't be fair if you don't know this so I'm going to let you know now, that the last man who lived with this curse, he died three years after having it."

This however, had Hermione's head snapped back up, her wide eyes now looking at Ron in disbelief. "It means Hermione," Ron choked, "that I might have a year left to live, or a couple more, who knows? If you chose this…life…for us to be together, you have to know that we're living on borrowed times, unless I got fully cured."

"Oh Ron!" Hermione cried, as she moved closer to kiss him on his forehead, her tears falling in his hair. "How long have you known this?"

"Two years now."

"What?" Hermione cried as she looked at him in the eyes, her own eyes now red and puffy. "And you kept it to yourself? Nobody knows?"

Ron shook his head. "What's the point eh? I don't want people to start ticking off days on their calendar Hermione."

"You should have told me."

"I'm telling you now." Ron said simply. "So in a nutshell, what I'm saying is, I love you…and if you chose to be with me, I can't…" At this point, Ron paused to catch his breath and willed himself not to cry. "I can't guarantee you…that you can have everything you want, but I want you to know, that you can have what's left of me."

Hermione pulled her hand away; breaking the physical contact they had shared. She was crying again, her face hidden behind her hands.

"I'm not going to hate you if you say no, Hermione." Ron said as he pulled his hand close to himself. It was beginning to chill all of a sudden and he couldn't help realizing that his heartbeat was racing like crazy.

Hermione was shaking her head as she sobbed uncontrollably. "I'm sorry Ron…"

She was still talking, but the only thing Ron heard was the beating of his heart, so close to his ears that it was dizzying…


	12. From Here On Now

_Love is, waking up to see your face..._

Hermione couldn't help but feel as if the ticking of the clock was mocking her. It was five minutes to midnight and she was as wide awake as she had been when they had gone to bed earlier that night.

She closed her eyes and snuggled even deeper if possible, into his chest; letting the soft drumming of his heartbeat drowned out the offensive ticking. She placed her palm flat across his chest and watched it rise and fall while his warm breath got lost in the abyss of her hair. She was completely aware of his presence; how the heat radiating off him encompassed her body, how her left leg was pretty much hugging his, while the soft blue blanket became a tangled mess around them.

Hermione wished he was still awake and talking to her; he always knew how to calm her down and convinced her worried self that everything would be okay. How Ron had managed to find sleep that night, she would never know.

She looked up, studying his face for awhile to see any signs of discomfort and found none; his soft snores put a smile to her face. She reached out and placed the palm of her hand on his forehead softly, careful not to disturb him. He was still too warm for her comfort. Perhaps having him asleep was for the best after all, at least, he was spared from the pain.

Snuggling back into his chest, she sighed softly and hugged him tighter while still being very careful about the wound. The ticking was now nothing but distant echoes in the background as she started counting after every heartbeat. _One…two…three…four…five…_

**Earlier that day...**

_She woke up to the sight of Ron Weasley, wide awake, staring back at her. His blue eyes dancing in glee as he broke into a soft smile and whispered 'good morning' to her half-awake self. _

_She loved this part of waking up every morning. To have the face of the one man who had taught her how to love and be loved unconditionally the first thing to wake up to. His smile alone washed away any anxieties and stress she could already feel creeping up in her as her brain started planning for the day ahead._

_Hermione didn't think she could ever feel this loved by a man. _

"_Hey you." She smiled._

"_Are you in a good mood?" _

_She squinted her eyes, trying to figure out if he was up to any mischief. "You were staring at me while I was asleep, why?" _

"_Do you always have to answer my questions with questions?" _

"_Are you trying to get away with something?" _

"_Why do you think that?" _

"_Why are you smiling?" _

"_Should I be crying?" _

"_No." _

"_Yes!" _

"_What? You should be crying?" She frowned._

"_What? No!" _

"_Then why did you say yes?" _

"_It's not, yes, yes, it's YES!" He said, as if that explained everything. "You lose, you didn't answer my question with a question."_

_He could be such a child sometimes. She loved that about him. _

"_Okay fine you big winner," She rolled her eyes playfully. "To answer your question, yes, I'm in a good mood. I woke up to your face this morning." _

"_Hmmm…you used to can't stand this face." _

"_You used to call me a nightmare, yet I caught you staring at me while I was asleep." _

_He grinned. "Good point." _

"_Why does it matter if I'm in a good mood today?" _

_The grin fell from his face immediately. "Well, you're supposed to wake up ten minutes ago but I was too busy staring at you and then I didn't have the heart to wake you up cause you looked so beautiful sleeping like that and I reckon now you're fifteen minutes late because we were playing the who will end up answering the question without a question game add a few more seconds as I explained this to you." _

_She laughed, out loud, which really surprised him. If there was one thing she learnt from Ron Weasley, it was to always find the humor in life, even in the darkest moments. It worked…sometimes. _

"_You're laughing," He said. "does this mean I'm not in trouble?" _

"_No, you deserve a kiss for that." She said as she closed the gap between them and planted a big kiss on his forehead._

"_Tell me, what must a man do to get a kiss on the lips from his girlfriend?" _

"_In your case, nothing. I just don't kiss anyone with my morning breath Ronald." _

"_I don't mind." _

"_You're disgusting." _

"_So I've been told." He smirked. "But you made love to this disgusting person last night." _

"_I'll never get out of this bed if I keep talking to you." _

"_You're most likely twenty minutes late by now." _

"_We are twenty minutes late Ron." _

"_Oh yeah." _

"_Never mind, it's Saturday anyway, we get some slack." She stifled a yawn before getting out of bed and went straight to the bathroom. _

_When Hermione got out of the bathroom, Ron was no longer in bed. She dressed casually and went straight to the kitchen, to find two plates of toast, bacons and egg served along with two cups of tea. Ron was reading the Daily Prophet. _

"_Something smells kind of yummy." _

"_I know it's not me." He said as he folded the papers carefully and then stood up. "Don't wait for me, I might take forever in the shower and that wasn't meant to sound dirty, at all." _

_She smiled and watched him left. _

_It was so easy to treat the day as any other day but she knew they were both trying too hard to not say anything about it. The kitchen was suddenly too quiet for her liking. His plate of breakfast was left untouched and it unnerved her to picture a day when she would have to spend breakfasts without him. _

_Hermione buried herself with some paper works while waiting for Ron. They would have to report to the office as usual, distributing case works to the team and then making their monthly house visits and attend to complains and what not. _

_Ron doesn't work for the Ministry, he worked freelance, fixing pipes and the likes. However every Saturday, he would take in charity cases from her department, fixing things for free. Whenever Hermione felt like she couldn't go through another day studying case files that were mounting on her desk, she would think of Saturdays working with Ron. _

_On Sundays, Ron would travel with Harry to Hogswart, which was reopened earlier that year, to train the Gryffindor's quidditch team. It might still be too early for Ron to start flying again, but it didn't stop him from imparting his strategies and experience to the kids. It was their little escape, Hermione figured, a time when they could unwind and enjoy what they loved doing most. _

"_You haven't touched your breakfast yet." _

"_Was waiting for you." _

"_I told you not to. It's cold now." _

_She frowned. "Are you a wizard or not? Honestly." He smirked and then muttered a heating spell over the two plates of food. "I want to have them with you." _

_She knew it was easier to get him to eat that way. _

_They talked over breakfast until Parvati's head popped on the fireplace and yelled for their arses to be at the office. _

_Throughout their house visits, Hermione learnt that Ron was a natural when it comes to socializing with the aged as well as kids. He talked to old men like he would with his dad and when he commented on how good Mrs. So and so's cooking was, he had this gentleness about him that warmth her. There were also times when she would catch that glint in his eyes, when he missed a mother's touch. _

_Ron also never failed to bring some treats with him whenever they went for house visits, in case there were kids around. Most of the treats he brought came from either the twins' shop or Honeyduke. He always said the same thing to the kids when they left: Chin up! _

_When Ron played with the kids, Hermione sometimes wondered what life would be like to be married to Ronald Weasley and having him fathered her babies. She would sometimes even go as far as imagined what they'd look like. She found herself wanting this family with him and then wondering if they would ever get to get that far in life together._

_House visits usually lasted till late afternoon, after which, they'd report back to the Ministry and then flooed to the Burrow, which was only a walking distance away from the house they lived in now and the only reason Ron even entertained to the idea of moving out was because Charlie had returned for good and brought with him Ramona, a witch he was dating in Egypt. They were recently married and Charlie scored the Defense Against The Dark Arts position at Hogswart and lived and decided to live at the Burrow with Mr. Weasley. The rest of the Weasley clan also convinced Ron that he needed to live on his own just to have the chance to experience total independence in life. _

_They had dinner together at the Burrow and Hermione found Ramona a breath of fresh air. She never seemed to get enough of hearing about life in Egypt and working with dragons. She also learnt to bear with Fleur, whenever Bill and the family came for visits at the Burrow._

_For example, that particular day, she had spent making dinner with Fleur in the kitchen and nothing caught fire. _

_After dinner, they bid goodnight to everyone and apparated to Hogsmeade to meet up with Harry and Ginny and some old friends for drinks and to catch up on everybody's lives. Hermione loved this part the best – where old friends just gather around and unwind. If she concentrated quite enough and closed her eyes, she could almost feel the warmth and safety of Gryffindor's common room and the innocence of being nothing more but kids worrying over the next due assignments and talking (or listening, in her case) about Quidditch. _

_Ginny's hug for her brother was slightly longer than normal that night. Harry kept resting his arm across Ron's shoulders as if to tell the world 'look at me, I'm having a drink with my bestest buddy in the world'. Dean and Seamus talked about that random hot girl they met at that random muggle pub and how that random girl turned out to have a hot twin as the rest of them, including Luna and Neville, listened. _

"_I don't get the hot twins fixation," Ron declared after having another sip of his plain water. "I just keep seeing Fred and George." _

_That caused quite a ruckus over at their table as everyone started breaking into fits of giggles that refused to stop. _

"_I don't know, Fred and George are kind of hot." Hermione had said after they had recovered from the laughing fits. This proved to be a bad move as both Ginny and Ron almost choked in their own drinks while the rest broke into another fit of uncontrolled laughter followed by Dean and Seamus' complains of how Ron had ruined their fantasies. _

"_Are we still going to Gryffindor's first match next week?" Luna asked casually when the laughter had died down. _

"_Careful Luna, your house team might think you've changed sides." Neville teased. _

"_They're going against Slytherins, I'm okay with that." Luna shrugged. _

"_We'll be there." Dean said on behalf of himself and Seamus. _

"_We'll be there if we're not on duty." Ginny said while Harry nodded in agreement. _

_Hermione squeezed Ron's hand softly under the table and he threw her his assuring smile before looking at Luna. "Are you going to wear that hat you wore back then?" _

"_Do you want me to? I still have it." _

"_Yes. You wear that, and we'll be there." _

_Hermione nodded because she couldn't trust her voice. Next week was still too far away to think of. _

_It was close to ten when Hermione felt Ron's body began to lean heavily against her. Good at being subtle after so much practice, Hermione stole a glance at him while taking another sip of her Butterbeer and noticed how tired he was. There was also a light shin on his forehead, which always mean that he wasn't feeling good. _

_She yawned and then declared out loud how tired she was. _

"_I think that's our signal to get the heck home." Dean said. _

"_Yes, we have an early shift tomorrow." Luna said. "There's a wallaby flu epidemic going on." _

_Everyone looked at Neville, who shrugged and scratched his head. _

"_Right," Ginny said, still looking questioningly at Neville. "best keep ourselves warm every time then." _

"_And try not to visit…Australia?" Harry offered. _

"_What's a wallaby?" Ron asked. _

"_Never mind Ron, I'll tell you what it is later, we should go home now, it's rather late." Hermione said. _

"_You know you're getting old when you consider ten o'clock as late." Dean yawned. Everyone laughed, because they were a bunch of nineteen and twenty year olds who already felt as if they were older than that. War did that to people, she guessed. _

_Ginny looked as if she was in pain to let go of her brother but said nothing more than 'I love you' and hugged him good night. Harry shared a short hug with Ron and patted him on the back and told him he would see him the next day for Quidditch. _

_After bidding them goodnight, Ron and Hermione apparated back to their house. _

"_Home sweet home." Ron sighed as he pulled her in a hug and kissed her gently on the lips. "You taste of butter." _

"_Better than onion, I'll take that." _

_He laughed and they walked up to their bedroom where Ron excused himself to take his shower. _

_Hermione spent the time waiting for her turn to shower by arranging the potions he had to take for the night on the side table. It was a nightly routine for her, to measure the exact amount of potion and to mix them together for his dosage. And then she would placed a new roll of bandage with the medicated plaster and the pair of scissors next to it so Ron didn't have to trouble himself to find them. She also made sure there was a glass of pumpkin juice for him to wash away the bitter after taste of the potions. _

_By the time Ron came out of the bathroom clad only in a towel around his waist, Hermione was reading a muggle novel in bed. She abandoned the book the moment she saw him and reached out for her wand as she got out of bed. _

"_You missed a spot." She said casually and scourgified a trickle of blood near the wound. _

"_Thanks." _

"_Get dressed quickly, it's quit chilly tonight." She said as she made her way to the bathroom.  
_

"_Whatever happened to woah Ron, I'm so turned on by your nakedness?" _

"_Whatever happened to the shy kid who blushed at every little thing?" _

"_I told you he's not here." _

_Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to face him. "Oh he's here alright, he's just being a prat and hibernating." _

_This made him laugh for some reason and Hermione left to take her shower. _

_By the time she returned and got dressed, Ron was already in bed almost in a fetal position, the blue blanket covering him from the chest down, his back facing her. She knew this position very well by then and her heart fell. She took a few deep breaths and willed herself to calm down before climbing to bed and spooning him from the back. She slid her arm around his waist and rested her chin on the curve of his neck. She heard him sigh and felt his arm rested on top of hers. _

"_I think I'm sick." _

"_Did you take the potions?" She felt him nodded his head. "Then it'd be okay." _

"_Today was fun." He murmured with his eyes closed. _

"_It was. Plus, I get to see you bend over and fixed things." _

_She felt him smile and she couldn't help smiling herself. "What happened to the bushy haired girl who thinks dirty talks are sinful?" _

"_Hibernating maybe." _

"_It's really cold tonight." _

"_Ron…" _

"_I'm just saying. You're not going to get upset are you?" _

"_Would you rather me lie?" _

"_No."_

"_I'm terrified." _

"_It's going to be okay." _

"_I don't think I'll ever be ready for that Ron. It's not going to be okay." _

"_I need you to be okay…for me." _

"_I'm sorry, but I can't…I don't want to." _

"_Tonight is just one more night Hermione." _

"_Is it?" Hermione asked. "Then why am I so terrified all of a sudden?" _

_Ron turned to face her and Hermione moved to give him room before she snuggled and rested her head on his shoulder. He was trembling now and the heat from his body told her that his temperature had risen, yet Hermione chose not to dwell in them and played with the button of his shirt instead. _

"_I don't think that'll ever go away no matter what the outcome is Hermione, you chose this life, remember?" _

"_I've never regretted it Ron." _

"_I know. I'm sorry you're terrified though." _

"_I'm sorry you have to go through this." _

"_We're a very sorry couple aren't we?" _

_She smiled and nodded her head, which caused Ron to chuckle. "Ginny and Harry are not that much different than us you know." _

_"Oh really?" _

_Ron nodded. "Yeah. I bet you they wake up every morning wondering if they'd both return home with all their body parts still attached to their bodies." _

_Hermione nodded. "Being Aurors...you tend to gamble on your own lives." _

_"Right. Just like Neville and Luna as well. You just never know what kind of epidemic might be spreading, being in contact with the sick all the time...you're jeopardising your own life while trying to save others." _

_"What are you saying Ron?" _

_"What I'm saying is Hermione, we're not any more worst than anyone else out there. Every day is a gift." _

_"Every day with you in my life is a gift." Hermione said as she looked him in the eyes. _

"_I love you Hermione Granger," He said as he kissed her forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow, good night." _

"_I love you too." And tomorrow was a promise Hermione wasn't ready to make. _

And Ron had drifted to sleep soon after, leaving her wide awake, listening to his heartbeat, afraid for him. Afraid of what tomorrow held for them both.

Ron shifted in his sleep, breaking her from her reverie. A few seconds later, he started to cough and wheezed rather than breathe. Hermione pushed herself up and started brushing his hair away from his sweaty forehead. His lips were a tad pale and Hermione couldn't help the rising panic creeping up inside her.

She reached for her wand and started to mutter some cooling spell for the fever and another that helped him to breathe easier.

There was a soft 'ting' coming from the alarm clock and the time showed a minute passed twelve.

Ron coughed again, this time it was harder and lasted longer than the first. "It's okay Ron, shhh." The frown on his face eased as she began to massage his chest lightly. She kept telling herself that she had done this every time Ron fell ill and that this was _nothing_, that they had weathered worst nights than this.

She did this for Merlin knows how long until she heard Ron called out her name.

"Do you want something to drink?" She whispered. Ron nodded as he pulled himself up and then leaned heavily against the headboard. She reached for the glass on her side table and refilled the drink before holding it to his lips. Pass experiences had told her that Ron would usually be too weak to hold his own drink when he woke up at night.

"You're soaked in your sweat," she chuckled. "I think your fever has broken but that cough of yours need some tending to."

"That's good." Ron croaked as he shook his head to tell her he had enough of the drink.

"That's _very_ good." She agreed.

"Did you sleep at all Hermione? What time is it anyway?"

She grinned. "Nope and it's five minutes passed midnight."

"Wow, it's late."

"It's never _too_ late." She claimed excitedly, almost jumping in bed. "Ron, it's _passed_ midnight, we've passed the three year mark!"

He smiled and leaned over to kiss her on the lips. When he looked at her again, his eyes were glistening with unshed tears. "I told you didn't I? Good morning Hermione."

"Happy good Sunday morning to you too Ron Weasley!" Hermione laughed as they embraced in another hug. She knew when tomorrow comes, the same fears would overcome her again, it would never stop, like Ron had said. But for now, she was just grateful for another day, to be in the arms of the one man who could ever make her this complete.

"_I'm sorry Ron, but I can't love you the way you asked me to. Do you hear me? I said I can't love what's left of you Ronald Weasley, because to me, you've always been whole." _

--

**Your very long author's note, hehe: **

As she sneaks online at home to post this

Right, so, I just have to make this clear because I got me in a laughing fit after I read my own typo and which **qb1** pointed out to me later in her review...Molly wasnt supposed to go swishing her flick...whatever that means! wipes tear

And is it just me or do you find my description of Hermione spooning Ron sounded like a cross between funny and somewhat...not suitable for the rating of this fic? lol...I swear I tried to use another word to describe it but nothing else came to mind, lol.

And to clear some doubts...Mr. Weasley was articulate enough by chapter 11, what seemed to be his problem is his physical condition and the ocassional fits he would get at night. I know I didn't describe his progression clearly in this fic because it was meant to be a background story; that was, until I needed for him to come forward for Ron in chap 11...something I wasn't planning to do in the first place. So I hope this clears things up a bit?

and qb1, trust me, I hate what they did to Ron in the movies! Not only did they make him to be someone who doesn't seem to have a backbone, they had to give his lines to Hermione! gah! (Although casting Rupert Grint is a bless) That was one of my aims for this fic, I wanted Ron to be three dimensional and I hope I have achieved that. However, I'm such a sap and couldn't help loving that swish and flick moment in the movie (maybe that's why I got Molly swishing her flick? LOL).

Whenever I read reviews saying I have written a very cannon them, I did a happy dance. My no.1 fear while writing this - to make them appear non cannon.

Whenever I read reviews saying they can overlook my horrible English, I did a jiggy. This would be my second fear while writing this.

Oh...I hope you like how I end this. It'd be awesome to have them married don't you think? I almost did that and then decided not to. I think realistically, their main aim is to get through the 3rd year together and to give both of them the time and space to get used to this new relationship before either of them take that next step. What do you think? And I hope they still appear canonish while at the same time trying to make them sound more grown up after all they'd been through. I was struggling with that for awhile, lol.

Ok so I've blabbered enough...lastly but definitely most importantly, I'd like to thank all of you who've ever reviewed this story. You have no idea (well maybe you do, lol) how much reviews seriously help in the writing process. Your comments made me look back at my original plans and I changed a lot of them and added some new ones that I never think about until I read your reviews. For me, it's uplifting as well as challenging. Thank you so much! I hope to hear from you guys and your opinion abt how this ends, it'll mean a lot to me :D

**Greenpluff, scooterrg, sarahchandler, quickquill, ivebeencrucio'ed,qb1 **_(you reviewed every chapter and have been very vocal with your opinion, for this, I thank you for your help!), _**RTds9, Alik22, EvelynW, Anaii,Andi, gagHafrunt, Pugui, Ash, GiddyGirlie, HahaHannah, MagnoliaLane, HaryPoterGal13, LorraineShiloh,JKWilliams,LadyofAngels, charma10 THANK YOU MUCHLY FOR ALL YOUR REVIEWS! **


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